Industry Experts Call for Government Support in Cement Sector

In April 2024, the cement industry in Pakistan experienced a slight decline in despatches compared to the same period last year. Total despatches stood at 2.943 million tonnes, slightly lower than the 2.951 million tonnes despatched in April 2023. Local cement despatches decreased by 7.99% to 2.328 million tonnes, while exports saw a significant increase of 45.96% to 614,264 tonnes.

North-based cement mills despatched 2.088 million tonnes, a 4.79% decline from April 2023, while south-based mills despatched 854,911 tonnes, marking a 12.71% increase. Domestic despatches from North-based mills decreased by 7.91%, whereas South-based mills saw an 8.36% reduction.

During the first ten months of the current fiscal year, total cement despatches were 37.447 million tonnes, showing a 2.45% increase from the previous year. Domestic despatches decreased by 4.12%, while exports grew by an impressive 65.35% to 5.715 million tonnes.

Industry experts are calling for government support to boost construction activities by introducing industry-friendly measures in the upcoming budget. They emphasize the need to enhance capacity utilization to achieve economies of scale and reduce operational costs, ultimately benefiting the end consumer.