Pakistan monthly dispatches fall on transportation issues

Pakistan saw a rise in total dispatches for the first 11 months of the current fiscal but May 2013 sales declined by one per cent largely due to transport issues.

For the first 11 months of the current fiscal, sales reached 30.552Mt compared to 29.495Mt, representing a YoY rise of 3.5 per cent. Capacity utilisation has reached 74.45 per cent, its highest level since 2006-07 as domestic dispatches have picked up appreciably through the year. However, exports between July 2012 - May 2013 were 7.709Mt, down 1.6 per cent from the 7.837Mt recorded in the comparative period.

Total dispatches in May 2013 were 2.888Mt compared with 2.918Mt in the same period a year ago. Last month’s dispatches were also down on a sequential basis compared to the 3.123Mt recorded in April 2013.

Cement units in the north of the country sold 1.714Mt of cement to the domestic. Exports of around 0.571Mt were sent to Afhanstan and other destinations via sea while exports to India were just 0.061Mt. Units based in the south sold 0.389Mt of cement and their exports totalled 0.241Mt.

A spokesperson from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Cement Association (APCMA) said that recent axle load limitations have impacted the availability of transport and increased transport charges for cement companies. This is already one of the main production cost components and further increases are impacting sales. The source said he hoped that the government would look into the issue as a matter of urgency.

With exports also having declined substantially over the past five years (from 10.981Mt in 2008-09 to 7.709Mt in the first 11 months of FY12-13), the spokesperson said he hoped the new government would discuss the issue of non-trade barriers with India to increase exports to the country.