Siam City stressing semi-finished cement mix
Siam City Cement, the country's second biggest cement manufacturer, plans to increase sales of its semi-finished cement mix next year by capturing rising market demand.
Chantana Sukumanont, the company's executive vice president for customer relations, said last week that demand for semi-finished cement mix, which is easier to use than normal cement, was predicted to grow worldwide next year due to worker shortages and increasing labour costs. "It has been difficult to reach our growth target because of tough competition from market leader Siam Cement," said Chantana. The company has been trying to achieve its target through increased exports. However, rising oil prices that have delayed construction projects worldwide have reduced the company's exports to a predicted 11 million tonnes this year, down from 13.8 million tonnes last year. In addition, increasing oil prices have raised SCC's production costs by 40 per cent since 2004. Yet the company cannot raise the retail price of its products because of excessive market supply. Also, the local price of cement is controlled by the Internal Trade Department.
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