Bricks manufacturers, however, have jacked up the prices by about Rs 500 per 1000 pieces, referring to recent rainfall and its adverse impact on production. [break]
“As a net impact of this opposite price movement, people constructing new houses now will find cost going down by some four percent than those who started construction last month,” Roshan Dahal, a contractor, told myrepublica.com.
Movement of prices in the market shows that products of Udaypur and Hetauda Cements, two popular Nepali cement producers, have gone down by Rs 52 each per sack (of 50 kgs) over the last one month.
National Trading Limited that distributes cements of Udaypur and Hetauda this week unveiled a new price of Udaypur´s Gainda brand of cement at Rs 740 per sack, down from Rs 792 of the last month. Hetauda cement too is presently traded at Rs 705 per sack.
Records of Nepal Construction Materials Dealers´ Association (NCMDA), which claimed that the demand of construction materials have gone down sharply, show that Maruti cement, another popular local brand, too has dropped by about Rs 50 to Rs 690 per sack. “Other cements like are being traded at Rs 600 per sack,” said Binod Keshari Upadhyay, president of NCMDA.
Amid downturn of construction, he noted that the prices of Indian cement have dropped at a still sharper rate. For instance, the price of Ultra-tech cement of India´s Birla Group has dropped to Rs 650 from Rs 725 of the last month. Since cement occupies one of the highest weights of 29 percent in the overall construction cost, the drop in the prices of cement has made fresh construction cheaper by two percent than a month ago.
Likewise, the price of steel rod has gone down to Rs 68 per kg, including value added tax (VAT). A month ago, steel was traded at Rs 76 per kg.
“The prices of different brands like Panchakanya, Himal, Saakha and Ashok vary by about a rupee or two in the market. Otherwise, there is not much competition in the market,” said Upadhyay.
The drop in price of steel rod that weighs 29 percent in overall construction cost has further dragged down financial burden of construction by more than 3 percent than a month ago.
The price of sand has remained constant at about Rs 50 per cubic feet, while the price of bricks has jumped to Rs 8,500 per 1,000 pieces from Rs 8,000 recorded a month ago.
“Even this increased rate is ex-factory price. If you buy bricks from dealers you will have to pay more,” said Dahal.
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