A SHORTAGE in the supply of cement in Pangasinan was felt after construction and hardware stores turned away individual buyers empty-handed last week.

When asked about the sudden disappearance of supply, Marjorie Loresco, chief of Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) provincial office’s consumer protection division, suspected that contractors of government projects that are being rushed may have cornered the bulk early on but said the shortage is temporary.

For a time last week, households complained they had difficulty finding bags of cement for their own needs.

Among government projects in the province include road-widening projects, upgrading of roads, construction of drainage systems and the construction of a five-storey building of the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan City.

In Dagupan City, a construction of school buildings, pathways, and road elevation by the local government was also on a binge.

Loresco said the Northern Cement is producing some 100,000 bags daily which it channels to dealers across the province and in adjacent provinces and may not be enough to meet today’s demands in the days ahead.

Based on the DTI’s monitoring, there were 1.9 million bags of cement withdrawn from the plant from Feb. 1 to 22, in addition to 2.2 million bags in January.

However, a retailer in San Carlos City said NCC could not cope with the orders, most of which were already paid in advance by customers, forcing him to make refunds.

Filco Merchandise in Dagupan City said new deliveries are usually gone from their warehouse within two hours due to the big number of customers lining up to buy.

The retail price of one bag of NCC cement is already P235, up from P225 per bag last month.

Loresco called on the consumers not to panic over the temporary cement shortage as this will soon be over in a few days.

He said NCC expects to increase its production soon as a new equipment is installed. (Leonardo Micua)

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