ISLAMABAD: The export of cement declined 8.58pc year-on-year (YoY) to $19.253 million in December 2020, as compared to $21 million in December 2019.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics attributed this decline to closure of ports, lower trade activity on the Pak-Afghan border, and lower demand from international buyers due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
On a month-on month basis, however, cement exports rose 6.2pc when compared with exports worth $18.129 million in November 2020.
In terms of quantity, cement exports increased 19pc MoM and 7.52pc YoY to 593,215 metric tonnes, from 498,091 metric tonnes in the previous month and 551,729 metric tonnes in December 2019.
On a cumulative basis, cement exports during the first half (July-Dec) of FY2020-21 declined marginally by 1.61pc YoY, from $145.26 million in Dec 2019 to $142.927 million.
It may be noted the export of cement had witnessed an increase of 8.27pc during the first quarter (July-Sept) of the current financial year as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year. The country had exported cement worth $72.296 million in 1QFY21 against the exports of $66.773 million in 1QFY20. In terms of quantity, cement exports had increased 30.09pc in the first quarter, from 2,196,835 metric tonnes in 1QFY20 to 1,688,687 metric tonnes.
