Cement Sales Drop in December 2024, Exports Surge by 50%
According to the latest data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement sales in December 2024 fell by 4.76%. The industry despatched 3.370 million tons of cement, compared to 3.539 million tons in December 2023.
Export volumes, however. are up 50%. Cement export. increased from 524,656 tons in December 2023 to 783,550 tons in December 2024. Total cement despatches for December 2024 stood at 4.154 million tons with 2.23% increase against 4.063 million tons in December 2023.
Regional Performance:
Cement mills in the North of Pakistan decreased by 3.71% in despatches, with 2.9 million tons in December 2024, compared to 3.012 million tons in December 2023. In contrast, mills in the South performed better, with a 19.25% increase in despatches, rising from 1.052 million tons in December 2023 to 1.254 million tons in December 2024.
Domestic despatches of North-based mills dropped by 5.11%, whereas South-based mills declined by 3.04%. Exports of both regions rose by around 50%. In December 2024, North-based mills exported 114,089 tons and South-based mills exported 669,461 tons.
Six Months Performance
Looking at the first six months of the current fiscal year, total cement despatches (domestic and exports) reached 22.933 million tons down by 3.97 percent compared to the 23.881 million tons for the same period last year.
Domestic despatches dropped by 10.41 percent, from 20.228 million tons down to 18.122 million tons, whereas domestic despatches rose 31.69 percent, reaching 4.810 million tons while exports stood at 3.653 million tons at the end of the same period last year.
North against South Performance
North-based cement mills experienced domestic despatches which declined by 9.46 percent from 16.772 million tons to 15.185 million tons whereas its exports increased with 28.81 percent with 770,470 tons moving to 992,413 tons. Total despatches from North. declined by 7.78 percent.
In the South, cement mills witnessed a decrease of 15.02% in domestic despatches. The decrease has been in absolute figures from 3.456 million tons to 2.937 million tons. On the other hand, exports from the South have increased by 32.47%, moving from 2.882 million tons to 3.817 million tons. Total despatches from the South increased by 6.57%.
Looming Concerns About Local Demand
APCMA spokesman further expressed concern about the local cement demand continuing on a downtrend, citing this industry and economic activity as very sensitive to local sales. He mentioned that reducing the duty and taxes will reduce the price of cement; thus, these will boost up the sales volumes and enable this sector to efficiently utilize its available capacity.
