Construction Industry News
Cement prices will rise from December to balance the rising input costs of coal, especially the imported variant, which is used as a heating medium.
Imported coal used to cost 50% of Indian coal. But a fourfold jump in value has made it too expensive lately. The companies have no option but to increase cement costs to recoup the costs.
Coal is an essential element in cement production as it is used as an energy source and requires large quantities. A high-temperature furnace, fired by coal, heats raw materials such as limestone and converts them into clinker. Later, the clinker is combined with gypsum, ground into a fine powder and made into cement.
It takes about 100 kg of Indian coal to produce one tonne of cement. When it comes to imported coal, it takes only 70 to 80 kg to produce one tonne of cement, given its superior quality. When it comes to power, it takes 75 units of electricity to produce the same amount of cement.
Currently, the retail cost of cement is in the range of Rs 370 to Rs 400 per bag. Next month, when the construction activity season peaks, values could rise by about Rs 40 per bag, and high-quality cement could cost Rs 450 per bag.
In Telangana, about 15 companies from Orient, Sagar Cements, Anjani Cements, India Cements, Penna Cements and Zuari Cements manufacture and supply cement both within the state and the rest of the country, mainly from the Nalgonda cluster. There is an average demand for 10 million tons of cement per year, of which five million tons are needed in Hyderabad alone.
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