April's local cement dispatches fall, but exports rise

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has warned about the fall of cement dispatches to local and overseas markets during April and 10MFY22-23 (July 2022-April 2023), which was due to a seasonal break in construction activities in the holy month of Ramadan and inflation pressure on buying power of consumers. In addition, APCMA said that the current economic turmoil has badly impacted cement consumption. Therefore, total cement dispatches declined by 16.6 per cent to 2.951Mt against 3.536Mt dispatched in April 2022. Of this total, local cement dispatches were 2.53Mt compared to 3.38Mt in April 2022, showing a decline of 25.1 per cent. However, export volumes increased by 168.6 per cent from 156,613t in April 2022 to 420,677t in April 2023.

Northern and southern mills see domestic deliveries down, exports up
In April 2023 northern-based cement mills dispatched 2.19Mt cement, showing a decline of 23.5 per cent against 2.87Mt dispatches in April 2022. Southern-based mills dispatched 0.76Mt cement during April 2023, which was 13.4 per cent more than the 0.67Mt of April 2022.  

Northern cement mills dispatched 2.11Mt cement in domestic markets in April 2023, showing a decline of 24.9 per cent against 2.81Mt dispatches in April 2022. Southern mills dispatched 422,071t of cement in local markets during April 2023, which was 26.47 per cent less than the volume of 573,975t in April 2022.  

Exports from northern mills increased by 35.9 per cent from 61,971t in April 2022 to 84,238t in April 2023. Exports from the south also advanced by 255.5 per cent to 336,439t in April 2023 from 94,642t during the same month last year.

Cumulative dispatches in 10MFY22-23
In the 10MFY22-23 domestic and export sales were 36.55Mt, which is 17.5 per cent lower than the 44.31Mt reported for the 10MFY21-22. Domestic deliveries during this period were 33.1Mt against 39.51Mt during the same period last year, showing a reduction of 16.2 per cent. Export dispatches were also 28 per cent less as the volumes reduced to 3.46Mt during the 10MFY22-23 compared to 4.8Mt exports during the same period of last fiscal year.

Northern-based mills supplied 27.157Mt of cement domestically during the 10MFY22-23, showing a reduction of 17.1 per cent compared to dispatches of 32.743Mt during July-April 2022. Exports from the north increased by 16.4 per cent to 862,675t during July-April 2023, compared with 741,452t exported during the same period last year. Total dispatches by northern mills reduced by 16.3 per cent to 28.02Mt during the 10MFY22-23 from 33.49Mt in the 10MFY21-22.

Domestic deliveries by southern mills during the 10MFY22-23 were 5.94Mt, showing a reduction of 12.2 per cent over 6.76Mt of cement dispatched during the 10MFY21-22. Exports from the South declined by 36.1 per cent to 2.59Mt in the 10MFY22-23 compared with 4.06Mt exported in the 10MFY21-22. Total dispatches by southern mills declined by 21.15 per cent to 8.532Mt in 10MFY22-23 from 10.821Mt in the10MFY21-22.