Not so concrete: Domestic cement sales decline by 3.7%

Situation during first three quarters of FY14 shows meagre growth.

KARACHI: Domestic cement sales in March have declined by 3.7% to 2.463 million tons – as a result of heavy rain in various parts of the country – compared to 2.557 million tons during the same month last year.

Cement exports during March stood at 725,000 tons against 768,000 tons during March 2013, down 5.6%.  Total cement dispatches during March 2014 were 3.188 million tons compared to 3.326 million tons during the same month last year, down 4.1%.

During the first nine months of current fiscal year (FY14), local dispatches stood at 18.76 million tons, posting a growth of 2.1% compared to the local dispatches during the same period of last fiscal year. Exports declined by 2.5% to 6.02 million tons compared to the exports during the first nine months of last year.



The overall situation during the first three quarters of FY14 showed a meagre 0.96% growth compared to the same period of last fiscal year as total dispatches increased to 24.776 million tons against 24.541 million tons in first three quarters of FY13.

Spokesperson for the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said that during the first nine months of FY14, average local cement dispatches stood at 2.084 million tons per month against 2.041 million during the same period of last fiscal year. Exports were, however, down to 668,000 tons per month from an average of 685,000 tons per month during the first nine months of last fiscal year.

Substantial increase in exports to India was witnessed during March 2014 as the industry exported 128,000 tons of cement to India against 51,000 tons during last month and 55,000 tons during the same month in last year. During the first nine months, exports to India increased by 28.40 % as the sector exported 420,000 tons compared to 327,000 tons during the same period of last fiscal year.

On the contrary, Afghanistan market declined by 16.44 % as cement sector was able to export only 2.746 million tons during the first nine months compared to 3.286 million tons during the same period of last fiscal year. Exports to other destinations through sea increased by 11.57 % to 2.850 million tons during the first nine months of current fiscal year from 2.555 million tons during the same period of last fiscal year.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2014.

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