APCMA releases dispatch data for January and 7MFY19

The Pakistan cement sector posted a double-digit decline of 10.7 per cent in the month of January compared with corresponding month last year, raising alarm bells among producers with a large production capacity, reports the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA).

The cement industry dispatched 3.646Mt in January 2019 against 4.083Mt in January 2018, says APCMA.

The buoyancy in exports stayed on course, increasing by a healthy 67.3 per cent. The industry exported 0.579Mt of cement in January 2019. One year earlier, exports stood at 0.347Mt.

7MFY18-19
Dispatch data for the first seven months of the FY2018-19 stood at 26.765Mt, only 1.7 per cent higher than the dispatches of 26.325Mt achieved during the same period of the previous financial year. Out of this, exports during the July 2018-January 2019 period were 4.141Mt, which was 50.5 per cent higher than the 2.775Mt exported in the corresponding period last year.

Regional performance shows the domestic consumption of north-based mills declined by 8.4 per cent to 17.831Mt in the 7MFY19 from 19.473Mt same period last year. The exports from the north declined 16.7 per cent to 1.692Mt in 7MFY19, from 2.032Mt in July-January 2018. During July-January 2019, the domestic uptake in south increased by 16.9 per cent to 4.793Mt and exports increased by a whopping 239.89 per cent to 2.448Mt from 0.721Mt during same period last year.

The APCMA spokesman expressed dismay on the constant decline in cement demand in the country and felt this is because of reduced government spending on infrastructure.