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Informist, Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

MUMBAI - Several markets witnessed rollbacks of earlier price hikes or flat prices in May because of weak demand conditions and higher competitive intensity, brokerage firm Prabhudas Lilladher said in a cement sector report Monday. During May, subdued construction activity, labour shortages, and heatwaves weighed heavily on demand, resulting in price corrections in several markets, the brokerage said.

The all-India average price of cement declined INR 2 per bag on a month-on-month basis to INR 331 per bag, it said. "While companies have attempted price hikes since April, partial rollbacks in several markets have limited the benefit," it said. The report was based on the brokerage's interactions with cement dealers across regions in India to assess demand and pricing trends in May.

One cement bag weighs 50 kg. The biggest on-month decline in cement price in May was in the western region, where the average price fell by INR 8 per bag to INR 355 per bag, as per Prabhudas Lilladher's data. The southern region witnessed a decline of INR 4 per bag in average cement price to INR 306 per bag, while the price declined by INR 1 per bag in the northern region to INR 334 per bag.

The month-on-month decline in cement prices was a deviation from the trend in the same Apr-May period last year. In May last year, the all-India average price of cement had moved up INR 4 per bag to INR 365 per bag, the data in the brokerage's report showed. The western region had witnessed an increase of INR 1 per bag to INR 386 per bag in average cement price in May last year, while the southern region saw a rise of INR 10 per bag to INR 355 per bag.

"Going forward, subdued demand during seasonally weak monsoon period can put pressure on pricing across regions pulling prices downwards," the brokerage said. The ongoing increase in diesel prices necessitates a price hike of INR 2 per bag by cement companies for every hike in diesel price of INR 10 per litre, it said. Most cement manufacturers have indicated a likely cost inflation of around INR 150-200 per tonne in the June quarter, driven by higher fuel, freight, packaging, and other raw material costs, the brokerage said in its report.  End

Reported by Rajesh Gajra

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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