Staff Reporter
Karachi
The impact of the construction package announced by the government is yet to be seen as the domestic cement uptake declined by a massive 37.63 percent to 2.27 million tons in May 2020 from 3.64 million tons in May 2019, the 3rd double digit monthly declines this fiscal.
Moreover, exports also decreased by 24.81 percent from 0.483 million tons in May 2019 to 0.363 million tons in May 2020. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), cement despatches were only 2.63 million tons in May 2020 for both export and local consumption against the desptaches of 4.12 million tons during the corresponding month of last fiscal, which shows a decrease of 36.12 percent.
The decline in cement despatches is mainly due to Holy month of Ramzan, Covid-19 and Eid holidays which slows the construction activity. The domestic cement consumption in the North was 2.001 million tons against 3.05 million tons in May 2019.
