Pakistan cement dispatches rose 17.49 per cent to 20.89Mt during the first eight months (July-February) of 2015-16 from 17.78Mt in the same period last year.

However, exports declined by 24 per cent to 3.8Mt from 5Mt in July-February 2014-15.

Total dispatches during the period increased to 24.76Mt from 22.78Mt a year ago, an increase of 8.69 per cent.

In February 2016 local sales rose 30 per cent while exports, for the first time since December 2014, showed a slight increase of 1.47 per cent YoY resulting in an overall growth of 25.06 per cent compared to the same month last year.