Pakistan cement production output fall in 9MFY23

The political unrest, fragile economy, high-interest rates and inflation are now reflected in the production data of large Pakistan-industry industries. On top of this, restrictions on raw materials import also dent industrial progress.

The overall output of Pakistan's Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries Index (LSMI) has shown a decline of 8.11 per cent during July- March 2022-23 compared with last year. The LSMI output decreased by 24.99 per cent for March 2023 compared with March 2022 and 9.09 per cent compared with February 2023, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PFS). Experts believe the looming effect of floods also persists on demands and the high cost of doing business for slowing down the LSMI.

The local media pointed out that the big industry production contract for the 17th consecutive month of the current fiscal year mainly contributed to a slowdown in the production of export-based textile and clothing industries. The decline in export proceeds also reflected that overall economic growth will decline in the coming months. It is believed that the slowing down of big industries has rendered many workers jobless.

Furthermore, the International Monetary Fund has recently revised downward the economic growth to 0.5 per cent for FY23. Similar projections came from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank at 0.4 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Cement production
The impact was also reflected in local cement production 9MFY23, which slid by 13.16 per cent YoY to 31.733Mt from 36.543Mt of 9MFY22, data of PFS says. The negative trend was also noticed in March 2023, when production dipped by 22.48 per cent to 3.570Mt versus 4.605Mt in the same month last year.