Dealers refuse to pick up imported cement
Financial Express

The central government’s recent move to scrap import duty on cement to check escalating prices may not have the desired effect.
Cement dealers in Mumbai, the largest market for cement in the country, have decided not to pick up any imported cement, according to industry sources.
Ever since the government abolished import duty on cement, countries like China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia have been looking at exporting cement to India.

“We will not pick up any cement that comes from neighbouring countries. We don’t trust the quality,” said a dealer in Mumbai.
However, industry observers also point out that dealers would not like to antagonise established Indian companies by distributing imported cement, which is seen at best as a short-term exercise.

Bag Of Woes
• Dealers say the quality of cement from neighbouring countries is suspect
• They also feel that imports will not be cheaper, either because of logistics costs
• Analysts counter that dealers just don’t want to antagonise domestic cement companies

Although anybody with an import license can ship in cement, be it a stockist or a builder, it’s more likely to be the latter, sources added. With the rising price of domestic cement, builders have been threatening to import for some time.
“Allowing duty-free cement will not have any impact on retail prices. The high logistics cost makes it unviable for users to import cement,” said another dealer on condition of anonymity. Mumbai is a major consumer of cement. Last year (FY07), the western region consumed about 28.3 million tonnes of cement, of which Maharashtra accounted for about 18.2 million tonne.