Pakistan: rising coal prices trouble cement sector

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has called on the government to remove import duties on coal following a 16 per cent rise in price, The Nation reports. The cement industry is Pakistan’s main consumer of imported coal, accounting for 95 per cent of the total.

A spokesperson for the APCMA said: “Our all efforts to reduce production costs faded away when the government imposed import duty on the cement industry’s main source of fuel, reducing our competitive advantage significantly”.

Global coal prices had fallen due to declining demand from China and the US but are now recovering due to lower levels of production and anticipation of greater consumption in future.