Pakistan exports have declined in the first eight months of the current fiscal, both in terms of volume and revenues.
During the July 2013 – February 2014 period, exports totaled 5.46Mt on revenues of US$332.02m compared to 5.81Mt at US$376.71m in the same period of last year. This translates into a fall of 6.04 and 11.86 per cent in quantity and dollar value, respectively.
Similarly, in terms of the Pakistan rupee, exports fell by 3.71 per cent to PKR34.77bn over the Jul-Feb period. The average export price of cement fell by 6.18 per cent to US$60.81/t from US$64.82/t in the same period of the previous fiscal.
In February 2014, the latest month for which data is available, exports amounted to 548,143t on revenues of US$36.52m, registering a decline of 1.79 and 1.46 per cent.
According to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association shipments to its main market of Afghanistan declined by 15.29 per cent to just 2.487Mt. Exports to other destinations via sea, however, rose by 14.6 per cent to 2.513Mt.
Industry experts have been calling on the government to engage India in talks to increase market access for Pakistan products and remove non-tariff barriers. Moreover, with the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan on the cards, uncertainty is starting to surround the Afghan market, resulting in declining shipments to this key overseas market for Pakistan producers.
