November 4, 2022 (MLN): Cement despatches declined by 18% YoY in October 2022. Total Cement despatches during October 2022 were 4.25 million tons against 5.22mn tons despatched during the same month of last fiscal year.

There are several factors contributing to this decrease in despatches, including a slowdown in construction activity following floods, economic uncertainty amid high-interest rates, high construction costs, and lower retention prices in the export market restricting exports.

According to the data released by the All-Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement despatches by the industry during the month of October 2022 were 3.89mn tons compared to 4.60mn tons in October 2021, showing a decrease of 16% YoY.

Export despatches suffered a massive decline of 41% YoY as the volumes reduced from 0.61mn tons in October 2021 to 0.36mn tons in October 2022.

In October 2022, North-based cement mills despatched 3.14mn tons of cement in domestic markets showing a decrease of 18% YoY against 3.83mn tons despatches in October 2021. South-based mills despatched 0.75mn tons of cement in local markets during October 2022 which shows a decline of 3% YoY against 0.77mn tons despatches during October 2021.

Exports from North-based mills massively increased by 79% YoY as the quantities increased from 73,102 tons in October 2021 to 131,111 tons in October 2022. On the other hand, exports from the South reduced by 57% YoY to 231,239 tons in October 2022 from 538,276 tons during the same month last year.

During the first four months of the current fiscal year, total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 13.86mn tons which calculates 23% YoY lower than 18.02mn tons despatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Further analyses indicate that domestic uptake of the commodity reduced by 21% YoY to 12.48mn tons from 15.87mn tons during July-October 2021 whereas exports during the same period declined by a massive 36% YoY to 1.38MN tons from 2.15mn tons during July-October 2021.

North-based Mills despatched 10.40mn tons of cement domestically during the first four months of the current fiscal year showing a reduction of 22% YoY to cement despatches of 13.31Mn tons during July-October 2021. Exports from the North declined by 9% YoY to 41,283 tons during July-October 2022 compared with 460,769 tons exported during the same period last year.

Domestic despatches by South-based Mills during July-October 2022 were 2.08mn tons showing a decrease of 19% YoY over 2.56mn tons of cement despatched during the same period of last fiscal year. There was a substantial decline of around 43% YoY in exports from the south zone as the volumes reduced to 961,581 tons in the first four months of the current fiscal year from 1.69mn tons during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

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Posted on: 2022-11-04T10:49:47+05:00