Buoyed by a boost in construction activities all over the country, the cement sector posted a growth of 11.18% in December 2020 on a year-on-year basis as total sales reached 4.8 million tons.
Cement dispatches had stood at 4.3 million tons in December 2019. According to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Monday, local cement sales increased to 4.15 million tons in December 2020 compared to 3.54 million tons in December 2019, depicting a rise of 17.47%.
However, cement exports dropped for the second consecutive month, which fell from 769,986 tons in December 2019 to 633,431 tons during the month under review.
In the northern region, domestic cement dispatches increased 17.1% to 3.5 million tons in December 2020. Cement sales in the region were recorded at 3 million tons in December 2019.
On the other hand, exports from the north decreased 40.52% as they dropped from 0.2 million tons in December 2019 to 0.12 million tons last month. In the southern region, local cement sales surged to 682,854 tons during December 2020, up 19.47% compared to 571,558 tons in December 2019. However, exports from the south were recorded at 0.5 million tons during the month under review against 0.56 million tons in December 2019, a drop of 9.36%.
In the first six months of fiscal year 2020-21, total cement dispatches climbed 15.66%, going up from 24.8 million tons during July-December 2019 to 28.6 million tons in the corresponding period of ongoing fiscal year.
Local dispatches witnessed an uptick of 15.9% in July-December 2020 to 23.6 million tons as opposed to 20.4 million tons in the same period of previous fiscal year.
Exports grew from 4.4 million tons in July-December 2019 to 5 million tons in July-December 2020, showing a growth of 14.6%.
During the six months under review, cement dispatches from the north swelled 16.21% to 20.2 million tons during July-December 2020 against 17.4 million tons during July-December 2019.
Exports from the north fell from 1.4 million tons during July-December 2019 to 1.2 million tons in the same period of current fiscal year, a contraction of 14.74%. In the south, domestic cement dispatches increased 13.97% to 3.4 million tons during July-December 2020 on a year-on-year basis.
Exports from the region rose 28.74% to 3.8 million tons in July-December 2020 against 2.96 million tons during the corresponding period of previous fiscal year. Exports decreased in the last two months (Nov-Dec) due to heavy congestion at ports and priority in berthing being given to imports of wheat, sugar and canola as per directives of the government.
A spokesman for APCMA said rising coal, electricity and diesel prices were denting the cement sector.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 5th, 2021.
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