Pakistan cement production surges by 11.14% in FY18

Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) has released data of the country's Large Scale Manufacturing Sector (LSMS) for the financial year 2018 (July-June). It shows yearly average growth of 5.04 per cent in all kinds of manufacturing including cement.

According to the FBS, Pakistan's cement industry saw growth of 11.14 per cent during July-June 2018, as production increased from 37Mt to 41.14Mt on the back of local demand.

However, in June 2018 alone, cement production fell by 0.49 per cent to 2.63Mt from 2.65Mt in June 2017.

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association stated, "The industry increased its production capacity by 6.58 per cent during 2017-18 and its capacity utilisation stood at 92.82 per cent, the highest since 1992-93 when its total production capacity was only 8.89Mt compared with 49.44Mt in 2017-18."

Going forward, the country experts forsee a slowdown in domestic sales growth in FY19, volatility in coal prices, cuts in development expenditure and pressure on cement prices as new capacities come on-stream.