Provisional cement data for the month of Mar’21 depicts a growth of 42% YoY to 5.3mn tons whereby domestic dispatches recorded a jump of 43% YoY to 4.5mn tons led by augmented housing demand amid the low interest rates environment and incentives for the construction industry, as well as work on colony construction of high-level dams (low base effect as lockdown was imposed last year, also aided dispatches).

In addition, exports rose by 36% YoY during Mar’21 to 0.69mn tons due to higher offtake to Afghanistan.

On a MoM basis, total dispatches depicted an uptick of 15% whereby local offtake underwent a jump of 16% amid commencement of summer season whereas exports went up by 12% MoM given robust demand from the Afghan market post end of winter season. This took the 9MFY21 dispatches to 43.22mn tons (up by 17% YoY) aided by an 18% surge in domestic offtake to 36.20mn tons in lieu of a v-shaped recovery in the economy.

Meanwhile exports picked up by 9% YoY during 9MFY21 primarily owed to sea-based exports by players in South.

Further dissection revealed that growth in North arrived at 17% YoY to 32.59mn tons with local offtake growing by 18% YoY to 30.67mn tons amid strong demand ensuing from rising constriction activity, albeit exports remained stagnant at 1.92mn tons (compared to decline in 8MFY21) led by lift of curtailment of exports to Afghanistan. Whereas Southbased dispatches achieved a growth of 17% YoY to 10.63mn tons as local offtake displayed a jump of 21% YoY to 5.53mn tons due to aforementioned reasons while exports went up by 13% YoY to 5.10mn tons supported by sea-based exports to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Courtesy – Arif Habib Limited