ISLAMABAD: As the economic turmoil continues to grip the country, the cement industry in Pakistan is facing trouble with declining despatches during the month of April 2023. According to the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), cement despatches declined by 16.55% during April 2023 as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The local cement despatches by the industry in Pakistan during April 2023 were 2.531 million tons, which is a 25.13% decline from 3.380m tons in April 2022. However, export despatches increased by 168.61%, with the volumes increasing from 156,613 tons in April 2022 to 420,677 tons in April 2023.
The North-based cement mills despatched 2.193m tons of cement in April 2023, showing a decline of 23.54% as compared to 2.868 million tons despatched in April 2022. Meanwhile, the South-based mills despatched 0.758m tons of cement during April 2023, which was 13.44% more compared to the despatches of 0.669m tons in April 2022.
During the first ten months of the current fiscal year, the total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 36.55m tons, which is 17.50% lower than 44.306m tons despatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. The domestic despatches during this period were 33.095m tons, against 39.506m tons during the same period last year, showing a reduction of 16.23%. The export despatches were also 27.99% less as the volumes reduced to 3.456m tons during the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to 4.800m tons exports done during the same period last fiscal year.
The current economic situation has badly impacted the cement consumption in the country, as stated by the spokesperson of APCMA. The decline in cement despatches is a reflection of the broader economic downturn in Pakistan. With the ongoing uncertainty and economic instability, it remains to be seen how the cement industry in Pakistan will perform in the coming months.
Â
