During the first half of the current fiscal year, the Pakistani cement industry has posted a growth of 11.07 per cent in local dispatches as compared to the local dispatches during the same period of the previous fiscal year, according to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA).
Exports recorded a decline of 3.53 per cent compared with exports during the same period last year. During the month of December 2016, exports to Afghanistan decreased from 0.201 million tonnes in December 2015 to 0.149 million tonnes, showing a decline of 25.72 per cent. Exports to India increased from 0.053 million tonnes in December last year to 0.087 million tonnes during the same month this year, showing a growth of 63.20 per cent.
Domestic dispatches in December 2016 were 3.186 million tonnes, registering a growth of 6.74 per cent, while exports amounted to 0.369 million tonnes, reflecting a negative growth of 18.98 per cent, compared to December 2015. Total cement dispatches in December amounted to 3.555 million tonnes, depicting a growth of 3.33 per cent and capacity utilisation for the month of December 2016 was 90.88 per cent.