Pakistan first-half domestic sales rise, exports remain under pressure

Pakistan has recorded a rise in domestic cement sales in the first half of the current fiscal but export levels continue to remain under pressure.

Latest data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers’ Association (APCMA) shows that local dispatches in 1HFY12-13 rose by 7.61 per cent to 11.728Mt YoY however exports declined by 5.28 per cent during the period to 4.22Mt.

Cement units located in the south registered growth of 7.98 per cent in local dispatches but a 16.34 per cent decline was seen in exports. However, the majority of cement capacity is located in the north of the country which saw growth of 7.52 per cent in terms of domestic sales but reported a 1.31 per cent decline in exports.

Exports to India were just 0.209Mt for the six month period – much below industry expectations, according to an APCMA spokesperson. Indeed, exports to Pakistan’s neighbour have been in constant decline ever since the two countries opened their borders for liberal bilateral trade. The decline is not due to lack of cement demand in India but because of very stringent non tariff barriers erected by our neighbour,” the spokesperson told The Nation newspaper. The Pakistan cement sector is still awaiting the removal of Non-Tariff Barriers by the Indian government to increase bilateral trade.

Over the past six months volumes to Pakistan’s largest export market of Afghanistan remained stable at 2.41Mt. Exports to other destinations via sea excluding India also remained in-line with the same period of FY11-12.