All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers’ Association (APCMA) Chairman, Sayeed Tariq Saigol, has urged the government to support the cement industry by placing an anti-dumping duty on Iranian cement and decreasing taxes to make the domestic product more affordable to consumers. Such changes would increase cement demand and result in capacity enhancement, creating more job opportunities.
He pointed out that the cement industry was among the highest contributors to the national exchequer over the last four years and has paid PKR189bn (US$1.8bn) in taxes. The contribution has more than doubled from PKR39bn in 2012-13 to PKR83bn in 2015-16.
The industry posted growth in these years, with dispatches rising to 38.87Mt from 33.43Mt in 2012-13. The growth in government collection is mostly due to the increase in duties and taxes by more than 60 per cent to PKR2492/t.
He said that there is a strong need to reduce duties and taxes to bring down prices, which would also help industry to grow as it is playing a vital role in the development of the country.
Export
While there has been a strong growth in cement dispatches, a continuous decline in exports has been reported over the last few years. The country exported 8.57Mt of cement in 2012-13 which has dropped about 46 per cent to 5.87Mt in 2015-16. However, the rise in local consumption helped the industry to stay afloat.
Mr Saigol attributes the decline in exports to increased input costs such as fuel prices as well as the introduction of barriers by export destinations. South Africa introduced an anti-dumping duty to protect its local industry while the tariff in India is around 19 per cent to discourage imports. Such obstacles make it difficult for Pakistan to compete with other exporting countries which have lower input costs.
