Pakistan’s cement industry saw a negative export revenue trend on overseas dispatches in the 7MFY22-23 (July-January 2023), according to the country’s Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).
During the 7MFY22-23, the cement industry earned US$100.63m by exporting 2.061Mt of cement and clinker, compared with US$160.92m from 4.315Mt exports in the 7MFY21-22. As a result, exports plummeted by 37.5 per cent in value, and volumes were down by 52.2 per cent. In local currency terms, export sales receded by 22.3 per cent YoY to PKR17.57bn, FBS added.
The country's political and economic uncertainty, high cost of doing business and slowed world economy have impacted overseas dispatches. However, according to AKD Research, if coal prices further move down to US$120/t, exports are expected to increase as export prices become much more viable in the coming months.
On a positive note, during January 2023 alone, export revenues increased to US$15.02m on shipments of 348,426t versus US$8.732m on 165,791t in December 2022. This translates to a MoM growth of 72.1 in value terms and 110.2 per cent in volume. However, YoY exports fell by 12.4 per cent in value and by 11.5 per cent in quantity compared to export figures of US$17.15m on 393,607t in January 2022.
