The Pakistan cement industry during the first 10 months of outgoing fiscal year July 2017-April 2018 dispatched 38.99Mt of cement compared to 33.880Mt during the same period last year. It posts a growth of 15.1 per cent YoY.
According to data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), out of this total, the mills of the northern region dispatched 28.9Mt cement for domestic consumption, up by 18.69 per cent over last year. The northern zone exported 2.674Mt of cement during the period, 1.27 per cent less than last year.
However, the plants in the southern zone dispatched 6.087Mt of cement for domestic consumption, up by 11.94 per cent on last year and exported 1.24Mt cement which was five per cent less than last year.
The industry in April 2018 alone dispatched 4.237Mt of cement, 17.5 per cent higher than the dispatches of 3.576Mt achieved during the corresponding month of last fiscal year. Out of this total, the domestic consumption stood at 3.772Mt and exports at 0.465Mt.
A spokesman of APCMA said the recent increase in Federal Excise Duty (FED) in the Federal Budget will hurt consumption as this will have an impact of PKR15 (US$0.13)/bag.
"The industry in its budget proposals over the years demanded to abolish the FED as cement is not a luxury item and FED is always placed on items to discourage its usage," the spokesman added.
"Increase in cement exports is a good omen, however, the major factor behind it is substantial decline in the rupee value against the US dollar that improved the competitiveness of cement in the global market.
"The exports could further increase if the government accepts industry demands for reducing duties on inputs like coal and power," he added.
"The government should decrease the taxes and FED on cement not only to keep us competitive in global market but also boost local consumption which will be negatively impacted due to less allocation for Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in the budget," he argued.
