Pakistan capacity utilisation drops to 10-year low

Capacity utilisation of the Pakistan cement industry declined to 68.29 per cent in the first two months of the current fiscal (FY12-13), the lowest level in a decade figures from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) show.

The drop is attributed to falls in domestic demand during July and August mainly due to Ramazana and heavy rains in the country, as well as a decline in exports.

APCMA data shows that total cement dispatches were down 1.64 per cent and 2.82 per cent in July and August 2012, respectively. “The declining consumption of cement is a matter of serious concern for the industry,” an APCMA spokesperson said.

The cement industry despatched 5.096Mt of cement in the first two months of this fiscal against despatches of 5.209Mt during the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Local consumption declined from 3.66Mt in July-August 2011-12 to 3.641Mt in the same months of this fiscal, registering a decline of 0.61 per cent. Exports declined from 1.546Mt to 1.45Mt, depicting a decrease of 5.87 per cent.