Cement dispatches declined by 18.46 percent in October 2022. Total Cement dispatches during October 2022 were 4.252 million tons against 5.215 Million Tons dispatched during the same month of last fiscal year. According to the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, local cement dispatches by the industry during October 2022 were 3.89 million tons compared to 4.6 million tons in October 2021, showing a decline of 15.5 percent. Exports dispatches also declined by 40.73 percent as the volumes reduced from 611,378 tons in October 2021 to 362,350 tons in October 2022.

In October 2022, North-based cement mills dispatched 3.27 million tons of cement, showing a decline of 16.15 percent against 3.9 million tons dispatches in October 2021. South-based mills shipped 978,166 tons of cement during October 2022, which was 25.33 percent less compared to the dispatches of 1.31 million tons in October 2021.

North-based cement mills dispatched 3.14 million tons of cement in domestic markets in October 2022, showing a decline of 17.97 percent against 3.83 million tons dispatches in October 2021. South-based mills dispatched 746,927 tons of cement in local markets during October 2022, which was 3.22 percent less than the dispatches of 771,755 tons during October 2021.

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

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

North-based Mills dispatched 10.4 million tons of cement domestically during the first four months of the current fiscal year showing a reduction of 21.88 percent to cement dispatches of 13.31 million tons during July-October 2021. Exports from the North declined by 8.89 percent to 419,283 tons during July-October 2022 compared with 460,769 tons exported during the same period last year. Total dispatches by North-based Mills reduced by 21.45 percent to 10.82 million tons during the first four months of the current financial year from 13.77 million tons during the last financial year.

Domestic dispatches by South-based Mills during July-October 2022 were 2.08 million tons showing a reduction of 18.59 percent over 2.56 million tons of cement dispatched during the same period of last fiscal year. Exports from the South declined by 43.32 percent to 961,581 tons during July-October 2022, compared with 1.69 million tons exported during the previous year. Total dispatches by South-based Mills reduced by 28.43 percent to 3.05 million tons during the first four months of the current financial year from 4.26 million tons during the same period of the last financial year.

A spokesman of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association expressed grave concerns over the continuous decline in cement demand and the rising input costs. He emphasized that government should devise industry-friendly policies so that our product is competitive and we can regain momentum in international markets. He was optimistic that the current visit of the Prime Minster to China is very important to revive the CPEC projects and boost cement demand. He added that the government should also speed up the rehabilitation works in flood-affected areas to reduce people’s difficulties before the coming winter.