Cement sales in Pakistan fell by 22.80% in June 2023, with total despatches totaling 4.063 million tons in June 2023, compared to 5.264 million tons in the same month of the previous fiscal year.
According to data supplied by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), domestic cement despatches by the industry in June 2023 were 3.487 million tons, a 29.97 percent decrease from 4.979 million tons in June 2022.
The number of exports climbed by 102.59 percent, from 284,471 tons in June 2022 to 576,309 tons in June 2023.
North-based cement mills shipped 2.950 million tons of cement in June 2023, a 30.08 percent decrease from 4.220 million tons sent in June 2022. Meanwhile, mills in the south shipped 1.113 million tons of cement in June 2023, a 6.60 percent increase over the 1.044 million tons sent in June 2022.
North-based cement mills sent 2.855 million tons of cement to domestic markets in June 2023, a 30.75 percent decrease from 4.122 million tons shipped in June 2022. South-based mills shipped 632,093 tons of cement to local markets in June 2023, a 26.23 percent decrease from the 856,863 tons sent in June 2022.
Exports from North-based mills fell by 1.88 percent, falling from 97,163 tons in June 2022 to 95,333 tons in June 2023. Exports from the South grew by 156.78 percent to 480,976 tons in June 2023, up from 187,308 tons the previous month.
Total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 44.579 million tons in the fiscal year 2022-23, 15.71 percent less than the previous fiscal year’s despatches of 52.891 million tons. Domestic despatches were 40.013 million tons, a 16.00 percent decrease from 47.635 million tons the previous year.
Exports were also 13.13 percent lower, with volumes falling to 4.566 million tons in the fiscal year 2022-23, compared to 5.256 million tons in the previous fiscal year.
North-based Mills shipped 32.776 million tons of cement domestically during the fiscal year 2022-23, a 16.89 percent decrease from the previous fiscal year’s cement shipment of 39.439 million tons. Exports from the North climbed by 17.41 percent to 1.069 million tons during the fiscal year 2022-23, up from 911,065 tons the previous fiscal year.
Total despatches by North-based mills fell by 16.12 percent to 33.846 million tons in the fiscal year 2022-23, down from 40.350 million tons the previous year.
Domestic despatches by South-based mills were 7.237 million tons in the fiscal year 2022-23, a decrease of 11.70 percent from 8.196 million tons in the previous fiscal year. Exports from the South fell 19.53 percent to 3.496 million tons in the fiscal year 2022-23, compared to 4.345 million tons the previous fiscal year.
Total despatches by South-based mills fell 14.41 percent to 10.734 million tons in the fiscal year 2022-23, down from 12.541 million tons the previous year.
According to an APCMA spokeswoman, the government should encourage export-oriented companies so that we may regain momentum in international markets and pull the country out of its slump. Improving exports will be critical to our economy’s recovery. The signing of a standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund is only a temporary solution, he stressed, and we must use our resources to establish a stronger Pakistan.
