A woman paints her house. PHOTO | FILE Paint prices in Kenya are likely to soar further over the next few weeks due to the rising costs of raw materials and supply chain disruptions, Kenya’s listed paint manufacturer has warned.
Crown Paints Kenya Plc’s chief executive Rakesh Rao said prices have already risen 10% this year and are set to rise by another 5-10% in coming weeks due to rising input costs.
The price of titanium dioxide, for example, has risen 45.46% to Sh3,663 ($33) from Sh1,998 ($18) on production shortages amid rising demand from paint and aerospace industries.
Titanium dioxide is one of the most sought-after pigments and fillers in the paint, coating and plastics industries. It is a key raw material for production of premium paints.
“Most of our raw materials have gone up by up to 60%,” Dr Rao said in an interview.
Rising freight charges have also exerted pressure on the prices of raw materials that are mainly imported from China, India, and South Africa.
“The freight component has gone up by up to 70%. We were paying Sh133,200 ($1200) and now we are paying Sh555,000 ($5000) per container,” he said.
NSE-listed Crown Paints Kenya has already raised the prices of its products by 10%, with other manufacturers taking similar measures.
“We cannot just pass 30% to the market because the market cannot accept that. We are unable to pass the prices because of the competitive environment,” Dr Rao said.
Paint prices in Kenya, which have been rising since mid-2017, rose significantly in 2018 after the introduction of 8% value added tax and Sh18 adulteration fee per litre of kerosene – a key raw material for paint and resin production.
The imposition of the levies saw the retail price of kerosene rising from Sh84.95 to Sh108.84, piling pressure on paint manufacturers who were already reeling under high input costs.Globally, raw materials such as monomers and titanium dioxide, which account for nearly 20% of the total purchase basket of a paint company, have been rising since early 2017 due to a shutdown of large plants in Europe and China over ecological concerns.High paint prices are set to pile pressure on builders who are struggling with rising costs considering that paint accounts for a significant portion of a project’s total budget. 11 Types of Roofing Materials
