ISLAMABAD: The export of cement from the country increased by 252pc in April 2021 as compared to the same month of last year.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), total cement despatches during April 2021 were recorded at 4.943 million tonnes (MT) against 3.52 MT during the same month of the last fiscal year, showing a robust growth of 40.41 per cent.
According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement despatches during April 2021 increased to 4.066 MT from 3.271 MT in April 2020, showing an increase of 24.29 per cent.
During April 2021, North based cement mills despatched 3.377 MT cement in domestic markets showing an increase of 15.33 per cent over 2.928 million tons despatches in April 2020.
South based mills despatched 688,239 tonnes cement in local markets during April 2020 registering an increase of 100 per cent compared to the despatches of 342,594 tonnes in April 2020.
Exports from North based mills registered an enormous increase of 155 times as the volumes increased from just 1,609 tonnes in April 2020 to 250,072 tonnes in April 2021. Exports from South also increased by 153.35 percent to 627,091 tonnes in April 2021 from 247,519 tonnes during the same month last year.
Further, total cement despatches in 10MFY21 were recorded at 48.274 MT which was 19.03 per cent higher than 40.6 MT of cement despatched during the corresponding period of last FY20.
A spokesman of APCMA said that it is very good to see that cement exports have touched 8 million tonnes during the first ten months of current fiscal year and will likely cross 9 million tonnes by June. “Another point worth noting is that domestic despatches are increasing even in the month of Ramzan, when construction activities are usually slow,” he added.
However, despite this growth, he said the industry is operating in a very tough scenario due to continuous rise in the price of major inputs.
“We request the government to treat the cement sector at par with other exporting sectors and rationalise import levies on coal and the electricity tariff which contribute to the main costs of the sector,” he said.
