Pass Buck, Seize Paper

not quite what industry suggests it to be. This is an assurance which a competitive price may not afford. It has been evident in the past two years that, with the expansion programmes and new projects in hand, for the first time in the 25 years of chequered controls, supply would clearly outpace demand in 1970-71, even granting the most optimistic estimates of increases in demand. Government had decided to decontrol industry, since the economic case for controls seemed no longer relevant in the changed circumstances. But Government is, no doubt, vulnerable to pressures from the cement industry. The Minister for Industrial Development has already promised another review. Government, as the major consumer of cement, should have been responsible for any forecast of a boom in demand. There were no indications from it of any deviation from the earlier trend. It is a section of the industry which is at pains to sell the idea of a shortage.