Pakistan's cement production falls in July-September FY18/19

Pakistan's cement industry recorded a negative growth of 1.41 per cent during first three months of FY18-19, ended 30 September 2018, as production fell from 9.332Mt of cement to 9.2Mt, apparently due to lack of local demand and other issues, reports Pakistan Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).

However, in September 2018 alone, cement production increased by 10.7 per cent to 3.144Mt from 2.84Mt in September 2017.

According to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), industry utilised only 79.8 per cent of its capacity in the first quarter compared with average capacity utilisation of 87 per cent during the previous three years.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Asad Umar, has asked the officials to reckon with the causes of falling industrial growth and take measures to arrest the decline in large-scale manufacturing (LSM). Large-scale manufacturing, which accounts for 80 per cent of industrial sector, declined 1.1 per cent during the first three months of the current fiscal year.