Fozia Azam

Cement despatches declined by 7.10% during February 2023 to 4.040 million tons from 4.348 million tons during the same month of last fiscal year, WealthPK reported. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement despatches by the industry during February 2023 were 3.590 million tons compared to 3.943 million tons during February 2022, showing a decline of 8.96%.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, export despatches increased by 10.96% from 405,489 tons in February 2022 to 449,940 tons in February 2023. In February 2023, North (region) based cement mills despatched 3.014 million tons of cement, showing a decline of 7.42% against 3.255 million tons in February 2022. South (region) based mills despatched 1.025 million tons of cement during February 2023, which was 6.13% less than 1.093 million tons during February 2022.

During the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year (2022-23), total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 29.81 million tons, which was 16.65% lower than 35.763 million tons despatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year (2021-22). Domestic despatches during the period under review were 27.207 million tons against 31.416 million tons during the same period of last year, showing a reduction of 13.39%. In terms of volume, export despatches were 40.15% less, as it reduced to 2.602 million tons during the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to 4.348 million tons during same period of the last fiscal year.

North-based mills despatched 22.327 million tons of cement domestically during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, showing a reduction of 14.42% over 26.089 million tons during the corresponding period of last year. Exports from North increased by 13.21% to 678,006 tons during the period under review from 598,897 tons exported during the same period last year. Total despatches by North-based mills reduced by 13.80% to 23.005 million tons during the first eight months of the current financial year from 26.688 million tons during same period of last financial year.

Domestic despatches by South-based mills during July-February FY23 were 4.880 million tons, showing a reduction of 8.38% over 5.327 million tons during the same period of FY22. Exports from South declined by 48.67% to 1.924 million tons during the period under review from 3.749 million tons exported during the same period last year. Total despatches by South-based mills reduced by 25.03% to 6.804 million tons during the first eight months of FY3 from 9.076 million tons during same period of last financial year.

A spokesman for the APCMA said the cement manufacturers are facing serious operational problems due to import restrictions on raw material and machinery parts. He urged the government to introduce industry-friendly policies to enable them to come out of this challenging situation.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk