Bangladesh's cement industry has seen fluctuations in clinker imports over the past two years. According to data from the Bangladesh Central Bank, the country imported clinker worth US$1.164bn in the FY22-23, which decreased to US$939m in FY23-24. This decline may be attributed to reduced demand, high prices, and the limited availability of foreign reserves for such imports, resulting in a YoY decrease of 24 per cent.
Bangladesh imports various cement raw materials from Thailand, Vietnam, China and Pakistan, including clinker, granulated slag, limestone flux, gypsum and fly ash.
Additionally, the market capitalisation of the cement industry on the Dhaka Stock Exchange also decreased between FY21-22 and FY22-23. The Central Bank reported a drop from BDT123.2bn (US$1.03bn) in FY21-22 to BDT110.9bn in FY22-23, with data remaining flat in FY23-24.
by Abdul Rab Siddiqi, Pakistan
