DOHA - Cement is not in short supply at all and anyone needing it can contact the Qatar National Cement Company (QNCC) directly and without any hesitation, a senior official of the firm said on Wednesday.
QNCC is the country's largest cement-maker and puts the demand of this key building material in the country at present at around 19,000 tonnes per day. "The demand is still high," said Mohamed Ali Al Sulaiti, general manager. "We have ample stocks with us."
Replying to a question from reporters at a press briefing held to announce the company's first half (H1 of 2009) results, Al Sulaiti said the firm was able to meet at least 90 percent of the local requirement by itself.
The remaining 10 percent of the cement requirement is imported. Asked about black marketing, he said he had no idea and added that such irregularities, if any, needed to be reported to the Consumer Protection Department of the Ministry of Business and Trade.
India, Iran, Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia have surplus cement production, Al Sulaiti said, hinting that if the need be, the material could be imported from any of these countries.
Some businessmen here have license to import cement from Saudi Arabia but the quantities they are allowed to bring in are low and vary up to 100 tonnes.
However, bringing cement from Saudi Arabia is not an economical option due to the high transport costs involved. Only if the material is brought from the eastern stretches of Saudi Arabia, would it work out cheaper, he said.
Talking about H1 (2009) results, the general manager said the company's net profits rose 38 percent over the corresponding period in 2008. Sales touched 19,000 tonnes a day as against 14,000 tonnes in the same period last year. As for washed sand, its sales grew to 27,000 tons per day as compared to 21,000 tonnes in the corresponding period in 2008.
Total revenue from sales was QR871m in H1, up 23 percent over the corresponding period last year, said the general manager. He said the company was not affected by the global economic downturn.
According to Al Sulaiti, the company has begun operating its new plant at full capacity and this has raised its total production capacity to 15,000 tonnes a day.
© The Peninsula 2009
