India: Indian cement producers are poised to pass on a 5.79% increase in the freight rate to consumers following the Railway Budget. However a cement producer quoted by the Press Trust of India said that a final decision would be taken after the Union Budget.
"With the hike in freight charges, the impact will be US$2.41/t - US$2.78/t of cement production," said Shree Cements managing director H M Bangur.
An analyst tracking the cement industry said that cement makers never absorb the hike in freight costs and these are always passed through. In the budget Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal raised the freight charges for cement, diesel, LPG, steel and iron-ore by up to 5.8%.