The price of a 50kg bag of cement has increased to a new high of N10,500, marking an 8.25% increase from N9,700 recorded in the previous month.

This is according to the latest price tracking data published by Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC).

According to the data, the latest price hike is the highest so far in 2025 as dealers cite the rising cost of transportation.

The lowest price of cement sold in Nigeria in 2025 is N8,400.

Construction cost to increase

The increase is expected to strain further Nigerians, particularly those looking to build homes, as cement remains a core material in housing development.

There are also concerns that the higher cost of building materials will exacerbate already inflated real estate prices.

Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, and Lafarge, Nigeria’s three largest producers, remain influential in determining market trends.

Minister laments cost of cement

Recently, the Minister of Works, David Umahi, expressed concern over the soaring cost of cement, stating that it has had a significant adverse impact on ongoing infrastructure projects across the country.

He appealed to cement manufacturers t, emphasising that such a reduction would support the rehabilitation of Nigeria’s road network.

Punch reports that Umahi noted that, with the recent stabilisation of the foreign exchange rate, a downward adjustment in cement prices would be vital for advancing essential infrastructure repairs nationwide.

His words:

“ Let me use the opportunity to express dissatisfaction with the cost of cement.

Our contractors have called and complained that they wanted to move back to asphalt. We are using this medium to tell the cement manufacturers that, at the time, the dollar was almost N2,000; they increased cement from N7,500. Why should today, when the President has brought the dollar to stability to about N1,400 and is still going down, cement be selling for N9,500?

“We are requesting cement manufacturers to bring down the cost of cement to N7,000. If after one week they don’t do that, I have to complain officially to Mr. President.”

On the flip side, cement manufacturers are complaining that the cost of production is rising.

In 2024 alone, the three cement giants reported in their financial statements that they spent an estimated combined total of N3.64 trillion on production costs, about a 72% increase over the N2.12 trillion reported in the 2023 financial year.