Pakistani cement sales grew by 32.3 per cent to 12.04Mt in the first five months of the 2007/08 fiscal year compared with 9.1Mt in the year-ago period, an industry official told Reuters on Tuesday.

Exports of cement stood at 2.59Mt 161 per cent higher than the 0.99 million tonnes in the same period last year, said Shahzad Ahmed, Secretary General of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association Pvt Ltd.

Cement sales for November were 2.56Mt, an increase of 25 percent from November last year when they were 2.045Mt.

Exports rose to 0.57Mt in November compared with 0.21Mt in November last year.
"Local cement demand is rising due to an increase in construction activities," said Bilal Hameed, an analyst at JS Global Capital Ltd.

Cement demand was expected to rise as the budget for 2007/08 (July-June) earmarked a record 520bn rupees for public sector development, analysts said.

Development spending is channelled into sectors such as education, health, infrastructure, agriculture and irrigation.

Demand for Pakistani cement has also seen an increase as Pakistani manufacturers capitalised on a shortage in the region and started exporting to India.