Pakistani export revenues of cement during the first 10 months of current FY17-18 ended 30 April recorded a YoY fall of 3.6 and 9.4 per cent in terms of quantity and value in dollar, respectively, according to says data released by Federal Bureau of Statistics, Government of Pakistan.

The country exported 3.74Mt of cement and earned export revenue of US$185.74m in July 2017-April 2018, compared to 3.88Mt at US$204.94m in corresponding months of the previous fiscal year.

In April 2018 alone, the country exported 404,898t of cement with a total value of US$19.14m, compared with 355,023t at US$16.82m in March 2018. This shows export increased by 14.1 per cent in terms of quantity and 13.4 per cent in terms of value in dollar MoM. Similarly, if compared with data of April 2017 (236,720t at US$13.43m), cement exports saw a YoY growth of 71.1 and 42.5 per cent in terms of quantity and dollar value, respectively.

Between July 2017 and April 2018, Pakistan exported 1.62Mt of cement to Afghanistan, reporting a YoY increase of nine per cent. However, exports to India fell by 4.5 per cent to 1Mt and rest of the world by over 12 per cent.

According to data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), the increase in cement exports is a good omen. However, a major driver is the substantial decline in the value of the Pakistani rupee 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,"  an APCMA official 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 the Public Sector Development Plant (PSDP) in the budget," the official urged.