LAHORE: The exports of cement, after showing a positive growth for the last several months, declined 18 per cent Year on Year (YoY) to $17.05 million in May 2019 compared to exports of $20.78 million in May 2018.
According to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), on a monthly basis, the export of cement also witnessed negative growth of about 22 per cent during May 2019 compared to the export of $21.86 million during April 2019.
Data shows that the exports witnessed an increase of around 26 per cent during the first eleven months of ongoing fiscal year against the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
Cement exports from the country were recorded at $260.17 million during July-May (2018-19) against the exports of $206.53 million during July-May (2017-18), showing positive growth of 25.97 per cent.
In terms of quantity, the exports of cement witnessed an increase of 46.18 per cent going up from 6,127,835 metric tons to 4,192,060 metric tons, leading to an overall drop in country’s merchandise trade deficit, which plunged by 13.62 per cent during this period of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Data shows that during April 2019 cement exports had witnessed an increase of 14.19 per cent annually when compared to the same month of last year. Cement exports in April 2019 were recorded at $21.861 million against the exports of $19.144 million in April 2018. On month-on-month basis, the export of cement increased by 42.03 per cent during April 2019, when compared to the export of $15.392 million during March 2019, according to the data.
During 10 months of the current fiscal year, the exports of cement from the country witnessed an increase of 30.89 per cent against the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
Cement exports from the country were recorded at $243.118 million during July-April (2018-19) against the exports of $185.741 million during July-April (2017-18), showing a positive growth of 30.89 per cent.
According to the industry experts, the cement sector has been under pressure in this fiscal year as development expenditure has been slashed. Moreover, in 2019 Pakistan’s cement industry continued to show poor performance.
Cement consumption is usually at a high in the third quarter as construction activities peak with the pleasant weather and urgency in completing government development works within the financial year. However, total dispatches in this period continued to decline.
