The total cement sales (domestic and exports) stood at 52.89 million tons during the fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22) which is 7.91 percent lower than 57.43 million tons during the last fiscal year.
The domestic uptake during FY22 reduced by 1 percent to 47.63 million tons from 48.11 million tons during the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21) whereas exports during the same period declined by a massive 43.57 percent to 5.25 million tons from 9.31 million tons during FY21.
Cement sales increased by 1.01 percent in June 2022. Total cement sales during June 2022 were 5.26 million tons against 5.21 million tons during the same month of the last fiscal year.
According to the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement sales by the industry during the month of June 2022 stood at 4.97 million tons compared to 4.66 million tons in June 2021, showing an increase of 6.66 percent. Exports suffered a decline of 47.57 percent as they reduced from 542,622 tons in June 2021 to 284,471 tons in June 2022.
In June 2022, north-based cement mills registered sales of 4.12 million tons in domestic markets showing an increase of 6.8 percent against 3.85 million tons in June 2021. South-based mills registered sales of 856,863 tons of cement in local markets during June 2022 which was 5.98 percent higher compared to the 808,490 tons during June 2021.
Exports from north-based mills declined by 51.79 percent as the quantities reduced from 201,540 tons in June 2021 to 97,163 tons in June 2022. Exports from the south also reduced by 45.08 percent to 187,308 tons in June 2022 from 341,082 tons during the same month last year.
North-based mills registered sales of 39.44 million tons of cement domestically during FY22 showing a reduction of 2.81 percent than cement sales of 40.58 million tons during FY21. Exports from the north declined by 64.52 percent to 910,685 tons during FY22 compared with 2.56 million tons exported during FY21.
Domestic sales by south-based mills during FY22 were 8.19 million tons showing an increase of 8.74 percent over 7.53 million tons of cement sales during the same period of last fiscal year. There was however substantial decline of around 35.6 percent in exports from the south zone as the volumes reduced to 4.34 million tons in FY22 from 6.74 million tons during the last fiscal year.
A spokesman of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association expressed serious concerns over the uncertainty in the government’s policies. He indicated that the industry is going through difficult times due to the historically high prices of fuel, electricity, coal, and other raw materials.
He said that due to the high cost of production, the prices of cement will continue to increase in the local market. The export of cement has declined massively during the ongoing financial year due to the high cost of production. The government should devise a policy that can help the cement industry to enhance its exports, he said.
Source: Pro Pakistan