KARACHI: The cement industry posted an 11 per cent growth in local despatches during July-October 2016 followed by a 2 per cent jump in exports as compared to the same period last year.
According to data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local dispatches rose to 10.439 million tonnes in the last four months from 9.382m tonnes in the corresponding period of 2015. Exports stood at 2.063m tonnes as compared to 2.028m tonnes.
Domestic dispatches in October 2016 were 3.008m tonnes, up by 16pc while the exports slightly fell by 2pc to 0.518m tonnes as compared to October 2015.Capacity utilization during October 2016 was 92.77pc.
Exports to Afghanistan during July-October 2016 decreased to 0.767m tonnes as compared to 0.869m tonnes in the same period last year. However, exports to India registered healthy increase from 0.242m tonnes to 0.490m tonnes during July-October 2016.
A spokesperson of the APCMA said that a sharp rise in coal prices is impacting the production cost. Coal, which was $54 per tonne in May 2016, has now increased to $105. APCMA has urged the government to boost the housing sector as the cement industry is heavily dependent on infrastructure projects.
