Cement exports jump 46 percent in April, but local sales drag

LAHORE: Cement sales fell less than 1 percent in April as a decline in local demand offset a surge in exports, industry data showed on Friday.

Total cement dispatches dropped to 2.943 million tonnes in April from 2.951 million tonnes in the same month last year, the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association.

Local sales slid 7.99 percent to 2.328 million tonnes from 2.531 million tonnes, while exports jumped 46 percent to 614,264 tonnes from 420,857 tonnes in April 2023.In April 2024, North-based cement mills dispatched 2.088 million tonnes of cement, showing a decline of 4.79 percent against 2.193 million tonnes dispatched in April 2023. South-based mills dispatched 854,911 tonnes of cement during April 2024, which was 12.71 percent more compared to the dispatches of 758,510 tonnes during April 2023.

The North-based cement mills dispatched 1.942 million tonnes of cement in domestic markets in April 2024, showing a decline of 7.91 percent against 2.109 million tonnes dispatched in April 2023. South-based mills dispatched 386,783 tonnes of cement in local markets during April 2024, which was 8.36 percent less compared to the dispatches of 422,071 tonnes during April 2023.

Exports from the North-based mills escalated by 73.11 percent as the quantities increased from 84,418 tonnes in April 2023 to 146,136 tonnes in April 2024. Exports from the South also increased by 39.14 percent to 468,128 tonnes in April 2024, from 336,439 tonnes during the same month last year.

During the first ten months of the current fiscal year, total cement dispatches (domestic and exports) were 37.447 million tonnes, which is 2.45 percent higher than 36.551 million tonnes dispatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Domestic dispatches during this period were 31.732 million tonnes, against 33.095 million tonnes during the same period last year, showing a reduction of 4.12 percent. Export dispatches showed healthy growth by 65.35 percent as the volumes increased to 5.715 million tonnes during the first ten months of the current fiscal year, compared to 3.457 million tonnes of exports done during the same period of the last fiscal year.

The North-based Mills dispatched 26.178 million tonnes of cement domestically during the first ten months of the current fiscal year, showing a reduction of 3.60 percent compared to cement dispatches of 27.156 million tonnes during July 2022-April 2023. Exports from the North increased by 37.48 percent to 1.186 million tonnes during July 2023-April 2024, compared with 862,855 tonnes exported during the same period last year. Total dispatches by North-based Mills reduced by 2.34 percent to 27.364 million tonnes during the first ten months of the current financial year, from 28.019 million tonnes during the same period of the last financial year.

Domestic dispatches by South-based Mills during July 2023-April 2024 were 5.553 million tonnes, showing a reduction of 6.48 percent over 5.938 million tonnes of cement dispatched during the same period of thelast fiscal year. Exports from the South massively increased by 74.62 percent to 4.529 million tonnes during July 2023-April 2024, compared with 2.594 million tonnes exported during the same period last year. Total dispatches by South-based Mills increased by 18.17 percent to 10.082 million tonnes during the first ten months of the current financial year, from 8.532 million tonnes during the same period of the last financial year.

A spokesman for the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association urged the government to announce industry-friendly measures in the upcoming budget that can boost construction activities in the country. "We need to increase our capacity utilization to bring in economies of scale and to control our operations costs in order to reduce the overall impact on the end consumer," he added.