During the current fiscal, cement demand in India is expected to grow 7.5 per cent. After slowing down slightly in April, demand for cement bounced back in May and despatches grew by 13.9 per cent to 202.5 lakh tonne.Production stood at 201.1 lakh tonne, 12.7 per cent higher compared to May 2011. The growth came on a low-base compared to May 2011. The despatch numbers 4.4 per cent were higher on a sequential basis as well. Cement realisations are expected to average 5 per cent higer in 2012-13.With the onset of rains, the demand for cement is likely to weaken in the next few months. However, the construction activity is likely to gain pace once the monsoons ends, leading to higher demand, economic think-tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) said.CMIE believes that cement despatches to reach 240.11 million tonne in 2012-13. This will be 7.5 per cent higer than the previous year. The early despatch numbers declared by Ambuja Cements and ACC are a mixed bag. Ambuja’s despatches grew 7.3 per cent while ACC recorded 2.6 per cent increase in May. Prices which were rising continuously for the past 8 months have started easing, CMIE said.