Indian cement demand could fall 20-25% in FY21

Indian cement demand is expected to fall by 20-25 per cent in the current fiscal year (FY20-21) if the COVID-19 pandemic is not contained by May and construction activities only begin in the second quarter, said analytics agency Crisil.

However, assuming the lockdown and other social distancing measures continue until the end of April and construction activity resumes in mid-May, the agency stated that the fall in demand could be 10-15 per cent. Capacity utilisation rates are also expected to fall to nearly 56-58 per cent during the financial year.