Cement dispatches decline by 18.46% in Oct

APCMA expresses concern over continuous decline in demand, rising input costs

LAHORE:

Cement shipments declined by 18.46% in October 2022. Total cement shipments during October 2022 amounted to 4.252 million tonnes against 5.215 million tonnes during the same month last year.

According to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement shipments from the industry during the month of October 2022 were 3.89 million tonnes, as compared to 4.6 million tonnes in October 2021, reflecting a decline of 15.5%. Exports shipments also declined by a massive 40.73% as volumes reduced from 611,378 tonnes in October 2021 to 362,350 tonnes in October 2022.

In October 2022, cement mills based in the North dispatched 3.27 million tonnes of cement, showing a decline of 16.15%, against 3.9 million tonnes dispatched in October 2021. Cement mills based in the South dispatched 978,166 tonnes of cement during October 2022 that was 25.33% less compared to the 1.31 million tonnes dispatched during October 2021.

North based cement mills dispatched 3.14 million tonnes of cement in domestic markets in October 2022 showing a decline of 17.97% against 3.83 million tonnes dispatched in October 2021. South based mills dispatched 746,927 tonnes of cement in the local markets during October 2022 that was 3.22% less as compared to the dispatches of 771,755 tons during October 2021.

Exports from North based mills increased by 79.35% as the volume increased from 73,102 tonnes in October 2021 to 131,111 tonnes in October 2022. Exports from the South based mills reduced by 57.04% to 231,239 tonnes in October 2022 from 538,276 tonnes during the same month last year.

During the first four months of the current fiscal year, total cement dispatches (domestic and exports) amounted to 13.87 million tonnes, which is 23.1% lower than the figure of 18.04 million tonnes dispatched during the corresponding period of last year. Domestic shipments during this period were 12.49 million tonnes against 15.88 million tonnes during the same period last year showing a reduction of 21.35%. Export dispatches were also 35.96% less as the volumes reduced to 1.38 million tonnes during the first four months of the current fiscal year, as compared to 2.15 million tonnes of exports during the same period last year.

North based mills dispatched 10.4 million tonnes of cement domestically during the first four months of the current fiscal year. This reflected a reduction of 21.88% as compared to cement dispatches of 13.31 million tonnes during July-October 2021. Total dispatches by the North based mills reduced by 21.45% to 10.82 million tonnes during the first four months of the current financial year from 13.77 million tonnes during the same period last year.

A spokesperson from APCMA expressed grave concerns over the continuous decline in cement demand and rising input costs.

He urged the government to devise industry-friendly policies “so that our product is competitive and we can regain our momentum in the international market”.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2022.

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