ISLAMABAD: The export of cement recorded 7.48 per cent decline during the first half of the current financial year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Pakistan exported cement worth $145.265 million during the July-December FY20 period against the exports of $157.006 million during the corresponding period of FY19, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data reveals.
In terms of quantity, the cement exports grew by 2.59pc from 3,671,485 metric tonnes to 3,766,631 metric tonnes.
On year-on-year basis, the exports however plunged by 18.64pc during December 2019 as compared to the same month of last year.
The cement exports in December 2019 were recorded at $21.062 million against the exports of $25.888 million in December 2018, the PBS data further revealed.
On month-on-month basis, the cement exports decreased by 29.31pc in December 2019 as compared to the exports of $29.794 million in November 2019.
It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 33.67pc during the first six months of FY20 as compared to the deficit of the same month of FY19.
The trade deficit during July-December FY20 was recorded at $11.628 billion against the deficit of $16.771 billion during July-December FY19.
The exports increased from $11.181 billion during FY19 to $11.535 billion during FY20, showing a growth of 3.17pc.
On the other hand, the imports into the country witnessed 17.13pc decline by falling from $27.952 billion in the last fiscal year to $23.163 billion during the current fiscal year.
