Pakistan’s cement sales in the first half of fiscal FY14 edged ahead by 1.8 per cent with a long-awaited pick-up in exports recorded in December, latest data from industry association APCMA shows.

Overall sales increased by 3.8 per cent in 2013 with domestic sales increasing to 2.33Mt from 2.24Mt in the same month of the year before.

After declining for the first five months of FY14, exports increased to 625,000t in December 2013 against 580,000t in December 2012, resulting in YoY growth of 7.8 per cent YoY. However, total exports of 4.145Mt over the six-month period were still down 1.8 per cent compared to 1HFY13.

Commenting on the industry’s half-year performance, an APCMA spokesperson said that the local sales during December 2013, as well as during the first six months, were the highest ever domestic dispatches in the country. However, the exports remained under pressure.