BAHA/MADINA: Police in Al-Baha, accompanied by inspectors from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, have arrested a number of black market cement sellers for not sticking to the price set by the government. Prices were up at the Al-Baha cement market Wednesday morning. Cement seller Tawfiq Al-Ghamdi, who had just arrived in Al-Baha from Taif with a load of cement he bought at Riyadh and Najran factories, said he paid SR21 for a bag which sells for SR25 in Al-Baha. Umm Bandar Al-Ghamdi, who is building a house, said she sent her personal driver to a Jizan factory 19 days ago but he was still waiting in queue for cement. Several cement sellers said they did not have any stock. A number of construction projects were stopped because loading at factories takes too long. Ameer Sulaihem, Madina Chamber of Commerce and Industry's Secretary General, said that official documents show that some cement factories have been involved in raising prices by 100 percent. A meeting of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Madina Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the chamber's Cement Committee, which was convened Monday at the chamber, recommended immediate intervention by minister Abdullah Zainal and Saleh Kamel, Chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers, to curb the price hikes and force factories to return to previous price levels. During the meeting, the factory owners claimed that the price hikes are a result of higher fuel costs. Specialists, however, rejected this argument. Members of the cement committee said they are committed to keeping the prices stable as directed by King Abdullah, but added that the factories are insisting on the price increase. Sulaihem said steps will be taken to curb the price increases because any rise will have an effect on all construction material prices which would obstruct construction development in the country, he said. “Strangely, over the last few years, cement factories raised prices in the second quarter of every year. This makes one wonder what the increases are based on, especially because demand during this period is not greater than the rest of the year,” he said.
