Cement exports drop 36pcto 467,000 tons in September

LAHORE: Cement exports plunged 36 percent to 467,000 tons in September 2015, industry data showed on Monday, as the import duty on the commodity by South Africa took a heavy toll on its exports.
“Around 45 to 50 percent of total cement exports were destined to South Africa before the duty was imposed," said Sheikh Adeel, senior manager sales and marketing at Maple Leaf Cement.
South Africa imposed up to 77 percent duty on Pakistan’s cements.
Besides, the international cement price declined to $50-55/ton from $60-70/ton four years ago.
Adeel said the drop in exports has adversely affected exporters from the Punjab.
The transportation cost from the Punjab province to Karachi’s port rose by $20/ton, he added.
Another industry official said the industry is not utilising its production capacity, seeking government incentives to spur the commodity’s output.
“There is enough idle capacity and government should step in to support industry to export surplus volumes, otherwise cement exports would continue to decline in the coming months,” said Shahzad Ahmed, a spokesman of the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA).
“We expect government to announce export incentives for cement industry.”
In September 2014, cement exports stood at 730,000 tons, APCMA’s data showed.
Total cement dispatches were recorded at 2.95 million tons in September 2015 as compared to 3.15 million tons in September 2014, showing a cut of 6.34 percent.
The industry data showed that cement dispatches to domestic markets were 2.48 million tons in the last month as compared to 2.42 million tons a year ago, up 2.6 percent.
Local industry has been demanding of the government for long to curb the import of cement from Iran, which they said is eating into local share.
“Industry expects government to take effective steps in order to stop penetration of Iranian cement in Pakistani markets through massive under invoicing and/or mis-declaration,” said Ahmed.
He said the mills located in South suffered more than those operating in northern part of the country.
In south, domestic cement dispatches declined to 399,581 tons in September 2015 from 431,133 tons in September 2014.
Domestic consumption in north, however, rose to 2.084 million tons in September 2015 from 1.990 million tons in September 2014.
Ahmed said the domestic dispatches in north were, in fact, nominally higher than the consumption of 2.024 million tons recorded in September 2015. “This depicts that the pace of construction in the north has not been hit as badly as in the south,” he said.
Adeel said people were busy in Eidul Azha. “Otherwise, sales could have been comparatively higher at local markets; the cement industry is recording eight to nine percent annual growth,” he added.
The export decline was almost the same both in north and south.
Cement exports from north declined to 306,564 tons in September 2015 from 480,025 tons during the same month last year.
Exports from South dipped to a low level of 160,698 tons in September 2015 from 249,906 tons during the corresponding month of 2014.