Pakistan October dispatches down on falling exports

Pakistan cement dispatches in October 2012 fell by 5.87 per cent mainly due to a steep 20.59 per cent drop in cement exports, data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers (APCMA), showed.

Dispatches for the month stood at 2.767Mt, down from the 2.939Mt recorded in the same month last year. Local dispatches were 2.086Mt, representing a marginal rise of 0.19 per cent compared to 2.082Mt in October 2011.
 
 In the first four months of this fiscal year, total cement dispatches stood at 10.474Mt, which is slightly higher than total dispatches of 10.436Mt achieved during the corresponding period last year.
 
Capacity utilisation of the industry during July-October period was 70.19 per cent.

Cement exports continued their downward trend. During the July-October period, exports to Afghanistan declined by 9.46 per cent to 1.634Mt. Exports to India were down by 37.51 per cent to 0.158Mt and exports to other destinations through sea increased by 2.34 per cent to 1.161Mt.