First cement cargo from Pak arrives; cos to be under pressure New Delhi, Apr 10 (PTI) The government's efforts to cool down prices of cement has started to pay-off with the first consignment from Pakistan entering Mumbai at a cost of Rs 155 per 50-kg bag as against Rs 225-240 asked by domestic firms.

"After the countervailing duty (CVD) was withdrawn, a 200 tonne consignment of cement has landed in Mumbai from Pakistan last weekend. The landed cost has been 70 dollars per tonne (Rs 155 per 50 kg considering an exchange rate of Rs 44 for one dollar)," a senior government official said. Due to expected demand from India, the prices have now gone up to 75 dollars per tonne (Rs 165 per 50 kg), but are still much less than the domestic prices. With customs duty and countervailing abolished, the cost of a 50-kg cement bag would come down to at least Rs 180.

The government had on April 3 abolished 16 per cent CVD and four per cent additional customs duty on portland cement. In January, the government had exempted portland cement (other than white cement) from basic customs duty of 12.5 per cent.

The cement, however, would be released in the domestic market only after quality tests by Bureau of Indian Standards, which takes around 28 days. Normally, BIS also inspects manufacturing facilities of companies that export to India. The consignment has been imported by a dealer in Mumbai and the government expects more cement to land in major costal towns, officials said, adding the slackening in demand during monsoons due to seasonal factors would also bring down the prices between June and September. Domestic cement companies, who have so far refused to cut prices, were expected to be under pressure with imports coming at a lower price, they said. PTI JM