?Come back in a few days, you should be able to obtain some iron bars.? This seems to be the most common answer customers get when they go to the ironmonger?s these days. The problem is that, a few days later, the answer is the same. Some retailers keep on postponing the sale of iron bars ? expecting they will end up receiving some bars? Others who have little stocks will selling their iron bars sparingly? and sometimes at exorbitant prices.

?With such a shortage of iron bars, some ironmongers do not hesitate to make their pile on the misfortune of those who are building their houses. I am not in favour of encouraging such a black market but I really need to move forward in the construction of my new house,? explains Jacques on the verge of giving up all his projects. But he is far from being the only one in that situation. Stéphane has faced the same experience when he went to look for iron bars recently. ?I have been asked to pay an additional amount of Rs 40 for an iron bar if I really needed some. One of my acquaintances was asked Rs50? I suppose I must feel favoured,? he says with a pinch of irony in his voice.

The problem started when the main supplier in iron bars of the country had to close down its factory. The company had asked the ministry of Trade for a rise in the price of bars of up to 37% but the latter only granted 20% increase after months of dilly-dallying. In March this year, Desbro International, saying it could no longer face the rising price of raw material on the international market, stopped the production of iron bars. Since then, the situation has become extremely difficult for all those having started building a house or a business. Many major construction sites have had to close until they get new supplies of iron bars.

But the minister of Trade, Rajesh Jeetah, is reassuring. ?It is perfectly normal that the market faces some difficulty when a company that used to provide 70 % of iron bars to the market decides to close down. However, I can tell you that I have recently received the import statistics of some companies and these problems should be behind us soon.? According to the ministry, two companies are indeed planning to import about 10,000 tons of iron within the end of the month. About 3,000 tons are reported to be already in stock. As the monthly consumption is about 4,500 tons, we should get out of the difficult situation as from mid-May. And more is expected to arrive in June and July - more than 13,000 tons.

But meanwhile, construction sites continue to suffer. And the situation is even harder for individuals who can?t afford to wait for iron bars while paying their workers. ?I had first settled my budget at Rs 300,000 for the first part of work. But I had to draw from this amount to pay iron bars at higher prices. The other problem is that I can?t continue paying workers for doing nothing so the latter leave the site and I am facing even more delays in my construction,? relates Jacques. This is confirmed by Stéphane, who finds it ?more and more difficult to go on with his construction, as the initial budget has been extended by far?.

This shortage of iron bars does not only impact on those who have started a construction but also on workers in the construction sector. ?We do not have much work to do at the moment,? confirms a mason. One of them is reported to have lost three contracts within the last three weeks. There is no doubt that there is work to do at the moment and that labour force would be most welcome on the major sites. But they will not be very useful as long as such an essential material as iron bars is not available on the market.

Fortunately, such problems should be over soon...