Pakistan: open land route To India could double cement export
Pakistan’s cement exports to India may double if India allows transportation of the commodity over land, a Pakistan official said Tuesday.
Pakistan has proposed to India that road and rail links to the Attari border checkpoint be opened, said a Ministry of Commerce official from Islamabad, who wished not to be named.
"If the proposal is approved, Pakistan’s cement exports - that had already entered the Indian markets to help meet the shortfall arising out of a real estate boom - will show an exorbitant increase," the official said.
Pakistani cement companies could place their products at the Attari check point, where India cement buyers could take delivery, he said.
Using sea routes, Pakistan exported 206,669 tons of cement to India during the July-February period,Shehzad Ahmad, secretary of the Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association said from Lahore.
During the first eight months of the current financial year that started July 1, overall cement exports from Pakistan grew 140% to an all-time high of 4.261Mt.