Cement sales struggle continues despite export growth

LAHORE: Domestic cement sales, which showed a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 11.64 per cent in January 2025 after a period of decline, failed to maintain momentum in February 2025.

Data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) indicates that domestic cement dispatches for February 2025 reached 3.065 million tonnes, compared to 2.869 million tonnes in February 2024, representing a marginal increase of 6.82 per cent. However, export dispatches saw a significant rise of 34.3 per cent, with volumes jumping from 395,935 tonnes in February 2024 to 531,736 tonnes in February 2025. Total cement dispatches for February 2025 were 3.596 million tonnes, compared to 3.265 million tonnes in the same month of the previous financial year, showing an overall increase of 10.15 per cent.

In February 2025, cement mills based in the north of the country dispatched 2.556 million tonnes, a 5.06 per cent increase from 2.433 million tonnes in February 2024. Southern mills dispatched 1.04 million tonnes in February 2025, a 25.04 per cent increase from 0.831 million tonnes in February 2024.

Domestic sales from northern mills reached 2.507 million tonnes in February 2025, a 7.22 per cent increase from 2.338 million tonnes in February 2024. Southern mills sold 557,895 tonnes domestically in February 2025, a modest 5.06 per cent increase from 531,044 tonnes in February 2024.

Exports from northern mills experienced a sharp decline of 47.82 per cent, falling from 95,393 tonnes in February 2024 to 49,780 tonnes in February 2025. Conversely, southern mill exports increased by 60.36 per cent, reaching 481,956 tonnes in February 2025, up from 300,542 tonnes in the same month last year.

Over the first eight months of the current financial year, total cement dispatches (domestic and exports) were 30.423 million tonnes, a 0.45 per cent decrease from 30.56 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. Domestic dispatches during this period were 24.5 million tonnes, down 6 per cent from 26.06 million tonnes in the same period last year. Export dispatches, however, increased by 31.78%, rising to 5.924 million tonnes from 4.495 million tonnes in the same period of the previous financial year.

Northern mills dispatched 20.36 million tonnes domestically in the first eight months of the current financial year, a 5.28 per cent decrease from 21.49 million tonnes in July-February 2024. Northern exports increased by 20.42 per cent to 1.101 million tonnes in July-February 2025, compared to 0.914 million tonnes in the same period last year. Total dispatches from northern mills decreased by 4.23 per cent to 21.462 million tonnes in the first eight months of the current financial year, from 22.41 million tonnes in the same period last year.

Domestic dispatches from southern mills during July-February 2025 were 4.139 million tonnes, a 9.42 per cent decrease from 4.57 million tonnes in the same period last year. Southern exports increased by 34.68 per cent to 4.822 million tonnes in July-February 2025, compared to 3.58 million tonnes in the same period last year. Total dispatches from southern mills increased by 9.96 per cent to 8.962 million tonnes in the first eight months of the current financial year, from 8.15 million tonnes in the same period last year.

A spokesperson for the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association said that the industry anticipates government measures in the upcoming budget to improve sector capacity utilisation. The cement industry, he added, supports numerous allied industries and plays a vital role in the country’s overall economic development.