Ijaz Kakakhel Islamabad
Cement despatches declined by 12.17 percent in September 2021. Total cement despatches during September 2021 were 4.589 million tons against 5.225 million tons despatched during the same month of last fiscal year.
The cement manufacturers are worried regarding continuous increase in input cost as coal FOB prices have increased from around US $ 68 per ton in September 2020 to over US $ 210 per ton during September 2021.
According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement despatches by the industry during the month of September 2021 were 4.018 million tons compared to 4.095 million tons in September 2020, showing a reduction of 1.88 percent. Exports despatches suffered a massive decline by 49.45 percent as the volumes reduced from 1.131 million tons in September 2020 to 0.572 million tons in September 2021.
During September 2021, North based cement mills despatched 3.451 million tons cement in domestic markets showing a decline of 2.04 percent over 3.523 million tons despatches in September 2020. South based mills despatched 567,445 tons cement in local markets during September 2021 that was slightly less compared to the despatches of 571,639 tons during September 2020.
Exports from North based mills massively declined by 61.63 percent as the quantities reduced from 287,287 tons in September 2020 to 110,245 tons in September 2021.
Exports from South also decreased by 45.29 percent to 461,340 tons in September 2021 from 843,334 tons during the same month last year.
