Cement dispatches increased by 3.85% in Mar 2024. Total Cement dispatches during Mar 2024 were 3.941 million tons against 3.795 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 March 2024 were 3.336 million tons compared to 3.357 million tons in March 2023, showing a decline of 0.62%. Exports dispatch, however, increased by 38.02% as the volumes increased from 438,433 tons in March 2023 to 605,142 tons in March 2024.

In March 2024, North-based cement mills dispatched 2.866 million tons of cement, an increase of 1.60% compared to 2.821 million tons of dispatches in March 2023. South-based mills dispatched 1.074 million tons of cement, 10.37% more than the dispatches of 0.974 million tons in March 2023.

North-based cement mills dispatched 2.742 million tons of cement in domestic markets in March 2024, an increase of 0.76% compared to 2.721 million tons in March 2023. South-based mills dispatched 594,487 tons of cement in local markets during March 2024, 6.52% less than the 635,959 tons in March 2023.

Exports from North-based mills increased by 24.14%, and the quantities increased from 100,431 tons in March 2023 to 124,672 tons in March 2024. Exports from the South also increased by 42.15% to 480,470 tons in March 2024 from 338,002 tons during the same month last year.

During the first nine months of the current fiscal year, total cement dispatches (domestic and exports) were 34.502 million tons, which is 2.68% more than the 33.600 million tons dispatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Domestic dispatches during this period were 29.401 million tons against 30.564 million tons during the same period the previous year, showing a reduction of 3.81%. Export dispatches rose by a healthy 68.03% as the volumes increased to 5.101 million tons during the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to 3.036 million tons of exports during the last fiscal year.

North-based Mills dispatched 24.236 million tons of cement domestically during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, showing a reduction of 3.24% from cement dispatches of 25.048 million tons during July-March 2023. Exports from the North increased by 33.62% per cent to 1.040 million tons during July-March 2024 compared with 778,437 tons exported during the same period last year. Total dispatches by North-based Mills reduced by 2.13% to 25.277 million tons during the first nine months of the current financial year from 25.826 million tons during the same period of last financial year.

Domestic dispatches by South-based Mills during July-March 2024 were 5.164 million tons, a reduction of 6.38% over the 5.516 million tons of cement dispatched during the last fiscal year. Exports from the South increased by 79.90% to 4.060 million tons during July-March 2024, compared with 2.257 million tons exported during the same period last year. Total dispatches by South-based Mills increased by 18.68% to 9.225 million tons during the first nine months of the current financial year from 7.773 million tons during the last financial year.

An All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association spokesman said the industry strongly hopes the newly formed government will address its concerns. Cement units have increased their capacities in expectation of higher construction activities in the country; however, he added that operating at full capacity is still a distant dream.