Lahore: On Friday, it was reported that cement sales had spiked up by a remarkable 45pc in comparison to same period last year (SPLY).
Capacity utilization for the cement industry stood at 86.46pc and annual cement production on a whole rose to 46.94m tons. Domestic consumption also rose 55pc as exports registered a small increase of 2.28pc.
Cement exports to Afghanistan rose from 0.150m tons to 0.210m tons during July 2017, however a fall was registered in exports to India of 11.61pc reaching 0.122m tons. Exports of cement by sea to other nations declined by 18.95pc to reach 0.144m tons.
Dispatches from manufacturers based in the northern region roughly stood at 2.423m tons while export shipments were recorded at 0.338m tons during July 2017. In comparison, local sales in SPLY stood at 1.516m tons and exports were recorded at 0.306m tons.
South based manufacturer dispatches also witnessed an increase in its local sales as it reached 0.483m tons from 0.352m tons in SPLY. Exports plunged to 0.138m tons in July 2017 from 0.158m tons in SPLY.
A spokesman from All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said the industry had recorded its highest ever sales figure for July which reached 3.382m tons. He added that the industry had never crossed the mark of 3m tons of dispatches.
