Indian demand to pick up by 2% in FY18

Indian cement demand has been forecast to increase by two per cent in FY18, according to a notice by ICRA. In the first eight months of FY18 cement production grew by 0.6 per cent YoY, to 190Mt from the 188.8Mt reported in the year-ago period. However production declined in the first and second quarter of FY18 when compared to FY17, falling 3.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, reports The Financial Express.

Demand has been impacted by a variety of issues throughout the year such as sand shortages, monsoons and labour unavailability.

"Going forward, the demand growth is likely to be driven by a pick-up in the housing segment - primarily affordable and rural housing, and infrastructure segment - primarily road and irrigation projects. However, new project announcements from the private sector continue to remain weak and revival of public-private partnership is crucial to improve the pace of infrastructure development," said Sabyasachi Majumdar, senior vice-president and group head, ICRA Ratings.