KARACHI: Overall cement sales dipped 5.75 per cent to 35.78 million tonnes during the first eight months of 2021-22 from 37.95m tonnes in 8MFY21 due to a cut in the Public Sector Development Programme, rising construction cost and inflationary impact restricting demand growth.

Data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Thursday showed that the cement exports recorded a sharp decline of 31.35pc to 4.34m tonnes in 8MFY22

from 6.33m tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

The domestic sales also depressed by 0.63pc to 31.42m tonnes in 8MFY22 compared to 31.61m tonnes in the same period last year.

Mehroz Khan of Topline Securities observed that global supply chain disruptions keeping the sea freight on a higher side hurting cement exports.

He said rising coal and commodity prices remain key concerns for the sector. Due to the sharp rise in coal prices, industry has been using more Afghan coal which is usually 20-30pc cheaper than international coal.

In this scenario, players in the north are better placed to avail

the Afghan coal due to better availability and lower transportation cost.

North-based mills despatched 26.08m tonnes domestically in 8MFY22, down 2.74pc than 26.82m tonnes in the same period in FY21. Exports declined by 63pc to 598,517 tonnes compared with 1.63m exported during the same period.

Domestic despatches by South-based mills in July-February FY22 were 5.33m tonnes, showing a jump of 11.2pc over 4.79m tonnes during the same period in FY21. Exports fell by 20.27pc to 3.74m tonnes in the 8MFY22 from 4.7m tonnes during the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2022