Dr. Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, the Minister of Commerce and Industry, today expressed appreciation of yesterday's Cabinet decision for exempting imported cement coming from non-GCC countries from customs tariffs, starting 9/4/1426 H. (corresponding to May 17, 2005) until the date of enforcing the 5 percent customs fee provided that the state shoulders the 20 percent protectionist fee which was applied on imported cement before the issuance of this decision so that the actual customs fee applied during this period is equivalent to zero percent. The minister expected that the decision would lead to the flow of big quantities of cement into local markets to meet the increasing demand on this strategic commodity, noting that the customs charges imposed on imported cement would be 5 percent, effective 1/12/1426 H. He confirmed that the Cabinet's decision exempting the imported cement from customs tariffs comes as confirmation of the interest of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan to make this strategic commodity available at reasonable price to meet the needs of citizens and contribute to the ongoing urban renaissance witnessed by the Kingdom. Yamani pointed out that the Ministry would cooperate with other authorities concerned to carry out the decision and continue to follow-up the situations in the local markets of the Kingdom on daily bases.
