MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Cement retailers in Manchester and St Elizabeth are struggling to meet demand because of what they say is a sharp dip in supply by the east Kingston-based Caribbean Cement Company.

Several hardware stores in Manchester and St Elizabeth said yesterday they had no cement in stock, with others limiting each customer to 10 bags.

Customer service representatives at eight hardware stores in the towns of Junction, Mandeville, Santa Cruz and Christiana, who all spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Jamaica Observer that a cement “shortage” has been impacting sales, and that they are uncertain as to when normality will return.

Proprietor of Levon Electrical and Hardware, Evon Redman and proprietor of True Bargain Hardware, Delroy Slowley in Santa Cruz told the Sunday Observer in telephone interviews that their businesses had been dealt big blows due to the cement shortage.

Redman is the former Member of Parliament (MP) for St Elizabeth North Eastern, who represented the People’s National Party; while Slowley is the current MP – a representative of the Jamaica Labour Party. Before that, he was a member of the PNP.

However, in an odd twist, Norman Horne, executive chairman of leading cement distributor ARC manufacturing, told the Sunday Observer that he knew of no shortage.

“I am not aware of a cement shortage,” Horne said.

Persistent efforts on Friday and yesterday – by telephone and email – to get a response from Carib Cement failed.

Redman and Slowley told the Sunday Observer yesterday in separate telephone interviews that each received one truckload of cement earlier in the day. Both said they needed much more.

Last Friday, Redman explained that for him the problem had existed since the previous week.

“Last week I ordered 4,000 bags. I received 2,000 bags out of that amount. Since this week I have received 1,000 bags. They are owing me 1,000 on back order coming from last week and I ordered another 3,000, and up to now I have not been able to get any,” he told the Sunday Observer by telephone.

Redman stressed that the availability of cement had a major impact on the sale of other goods in the construction industry.

“We are losing a lot of business. We don’t make a lot of money on cement, but it sells everything else. When a customer comes in and he needs lumber and steel and we don’t have cement, him walk out with him money,” he said.

Slowley shared similar sentiments.

“It is a big challenge that we are having right now. The supply that we are receiving has reduced from, like four loads per week — and I have only got one load since this week and that was Wednesday,” Slowley said on Friday.

Like Redman, Slowley said the shortage of cement has had a negative impact on the sale of everything else.

“It is affecting my sales. My sales have gone down extremely because cement is what drives the hardware industry, and without the cement no one doesn’t really wants to buy the other supplies because [cement] is at the centre of the equation in all that you are doing. Without the cement you have no hardware,” he stressed.

Slowley said the shortage started about a month ago.

“This has surfaced somehow since the first part of September, but it has got worse down to this point. This week has been the worst for me,” he said.

Slowley told the Sunday Observer that he received one truckload yesterday but that it isn’t enough to supply the demand.

“I received another truckload this morning [yesterday], but I can tell you that this has already been allotted out and I need more. I am actually running behind, because there is an outstanding amount that is there for customers,” he said.