Pakistan's local and overseas cement dispatches drop during September

Pakistan's local and export dispatches during September 2021 remained depressed, reports All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). Domestic dispatches stood at 4.018Mt and exports reached 0.572Mt compared to 4.095Mt and 1.131Mt in September 2020, respectively. This defines a YoY eduction of 1.9 per cent and 49.5 per cent on local and overseas markets, respectively. At the same time, total cement dispatches declined by 12.2 per cent to 4.589Mt from 5.225Mt during this period.

An APCMA representative expressed concerns about the slide in demand but was hopeful that the cement industry would regain its growth momentum in the coming months, mainly due to pro-government policies related to the construction sector.

During September 2021 northern cement mills dispatched 3.451Mt cement in domestic markets, showing a decline of two per cent over 3.523Mt dispatches in September 2020. Southern mills posted 567,445t cement in local markets during September 2021, which was slightly less than the dispatches of 571,639t during September 2020.

Exports from northern mills considerably declined by 61.6 per cent as the quantities fell from 287,287t in September 2020 to 110,245t in September 2021. Exports from the south also decreased by 45.3 per cent to 461,340t in September 2021 from 843,334t during the same month last year.

Cumulative dispatches
During the first quarter of the current fiscal year, July-September 2021, total cement dispatches (domestic and exports) were 12.825Mt, 5.7 per cent lower than 13.596Mt dispatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Further analyses indicate that domestic uptake of the commodity increased by 3.9 per cent to 11.279Mt from 10.853Mt during July-September 2020. In contrast, exports during the same period declined by a considerable 43.6 per cent 1.546Mt from 2.743Mt during July-September 2020.