Cement sales grow 4.19% in Nov

The cement sector posted a growth of 4.19% in its sales during November 2020 compared to the same month of last year, which was the lowest monthly growth in current fiscal year after a double-digit rise in September and October 2020.

According to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Friday, total cement dispatches during November 2020 were recorded at 4.51 million tons, an increase of 4.19% against 4.33 million tons in November 2019.

However, the sales were lower when compared with 5.74 million tons sold in October 2020, the data revealed.

Domestic offtake of cement in November 2020 rose 6.29% to 3.74 million tons compared to 3.52 million tons in November 2019. On the other hand, exports registered a reduction of 4.99%, dropping to 766,273 tons against 806,521 tons last year.

It is for the first time in the current fiscal year when exports have decreased, otherwise they had been rising since July 2020. In the northern region, domestic cement sales rose 4.79% to 3.13 million tons during November 2020 compared to 2.99 million tons in November 2019.

Exports from the north decreased 30.81% and amounted to 0.18 million tons in November 2020 compared to 0.26 million tons in the same month of previous year.

In the southern region, domestic cement dispatches climbed 14.66% to 613,113 tons. Sales in the region had stood at 534,720 tons in November 2019, according to industry data.

Exports from the south came in at 584,182 tons during the month under review, up 7.51% compared to 543,361 tons in November 2019.

Five-month figures

Total cement dispatches in the first five months (JulyNovember) of current fiscal year surged 16.61% to reach 23.84 million tons as opposed to 20.44 million tons in the corresponding period of previous fiscal year.

Domestic dispatches showed a healthy increase of 15.55% as they rose from 16.84 million tons during July-November 2019 to 19.46 million tons during July-November 2020.

Exports also recorded an encouraging growth as they escalated from 3.61 million tons last year to 4.38 million tons in July-November this year, an increase of 21.54%.

In the northern region, domestic sales swelled 16.03% as cement consumption in the first five months rose to 16.757 million tons from 14.442 million tons in July-November last year. In the southern region, domestic sales increased 12.66% as consumption in the first five months was recorded at 2.7 million tons as opposed to 2.4 million tons last year.

Exports from the south grew substantially by 37.7% at 3.3 million tons in July-November 2020 compared to 2.39 million tons in July-November 2019.

"The adverse publicity received by the cement sector as a result of actions of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) even before completion of an investigation affected the industry," said a spokesman for APCMA.