Pakistan dispatches decline in FY22 by 8%

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) released 12 months of local and overseas dispatch data on 4 July. During the FY21-22 (July 2021-June 2022) total cement dispatches were 52.89Mt, 7.9 per cent lower than 57.43Mt dispatched during the last fiscal year. Domestic consumption during this period fell by one per cent to 47.63Mt from 48.11Mt, while exports declined by 43.6 per cent to 5.25Mt from 9.31Mt from FY20-21.

DG Khan Cement Co said in a briefing that local growth was flat this year due to inconsistent policies and the domestic political situation. At the same time, exports declined due to the lack of availability of coal since prices rose dramatically. Furthermore, budget constraints (the government levy of 10 per cent one-time surcharge in budget FY22-23) suggest growth next year will be negative or single digit, the management stated. In addition, a continuous increase in domestic fuel prices will also cause cement prices to go up. As a result, various projects have been put on hold amid high steel and cement prices.

The APCMA attributes the performance to government policy uncertainty and historically high prices for fuel, electricity, coal and other raw materials. Due to the high production cost, cement prices will continue to increase in the local market. An official urged the government to devise a policy to help the cement industry export from Pakistan.

The breakdown of dispatches shows northern-based mills dispatched 39.44Mt of cement domestically during the FY21-22, down 2.8 per cent from 40.58Mt in FY20-21. Exports from the north declined by 64.5 per cent to 910,685t from FY21-22, compared with 2.56Mt exported during the previous fiscal year. 

Domestic dispatches by southern-based mills from FY21-22 were 8.19Mt, showing an increase of 8.7 per cent over 7.53Mt of cement during the last fiscal year. However, there was a substantial decline of around 35.6 per cent in exports from the southern zone as the volumes fell to 4.34Mt from FY21-22 from 6.74Mt during the fiscal year.