Kerala Industries and law minister P Rajeeve said in the assembly that the state government will increase cement production in public sector undertakings as a measure to lower construction material prices in the state.

In response to a calling attention motion by Sunny Joseph MLA, the minister said that the state produces only 10% of the cement required in the state and that private companies outside the state control 90% of the cement market.

The minister informed that Malabar Cements, a government-owned company, manufactures and sells cement at a lower cost than private companies. The government has taken steps to increase Malabar Cement production and intervene in price increases.

Travancore Cements, another PSU, has included an increase in white cement, wall putty, and grey cement production in its master plan.

The government will also establish raw material banks under the micro-small and medium enterprises (MSME) clusters, according to the minister.

The shortage of building materials and the need to address the steep price increase of building materials have come to the attention of the government, according to the minister, and the pandemic is the main factor that has aggravated the situation.

Cement, iron, PVC pipes, M-sand, P-sand, and other construction materials have seen their prices rise as the price of raw materials has increased.

The problems have been exacerbated by rising petroleum prices and a coal shortage. The minister also said that the cost of transporting cement from other states has contributed to the price increase.

The minister informed that the government had called a meeting of stakeholders to discuss the price hike and asked them to lower the prices to affordable levels.

The minister said that the government had also given relaxation to the quarrying industry to help it get through the crisis.

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Also read: Cement prices to rise in second half of FY22: HDFC Securities report