DG Khan Cement to dispatch 50,000 tonnes cement to US market

LAHORE: One of the largest cement-makers of Pakistan, DG Khan Cement Company is all set to export 50,000 tonnes of the building material to the sophisticated US market following lengthy certification procedures.

Fareed Fazal, Director, DG Khan Cement on Tuesday confirmed to The News that for the first time in the history of Pakistan, DG Khan Cement was exporting 50,000 tonnes cement to the United States. “A ship, Tomini Felicity is presently loading cement at KPT in 1.5 tonnes jumbo bags destined for Houston, Texas USA,” he said.

Fulfilling the contract of 100,000 tonnes monthly supply of cement to Texas was not an easy task for the company. DG Khan Cement made a deal with a US company last year in August 2021, when Fazal visited the country for the deal.

However, after winning the deal, it took almost 10 months for the leading industrial group to complete the required certifications for supply of cement to the US markets. These certifications include TXDOT, LDOT, NCDOT, SCDOT.

The US is short of cement production, and it fulfils its requirements from Mexico, Canada and Turkey.

However, the first time ever, a Pakistani cement manufacturer has entered the US market as the demand for the construction material has increased manifolds with buyers looking for other options too following President Joe Biden’s $6 trillion infrastructure package. Under the announced package, all the mega infrastructure in US, including roads, bridges and others would be rebuilt as constructed almost a century ago.

“This is a great opportunity for Pakistani cement manufacturers to explore a new established, stable market of cement. Previously, Pakistan has only been in unstable regional markets of Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh, with some supplies to Africa,” Fazal said, adding that the US was the biggest and sophisticated market with huge potential.

The establishment of a new cement plant in US was very difficult due to strict requirements of environmental protocols. So, if Pakistan was able to establish its presence in the market, it would be a long-term business.

“We get an order of 100,000 tonnes cement on monthly basis and DG Khan will send two ships of cement in a month,” the director added.

According to the exports data, Pakistan exported 4.971 million tonnes cement in the first 11 months (July-May) of the ongoing fiscal year, witnessing a negative growth of 43.32 percent. Cement exports to Afghanistan during this time were only 813,493 tonnes, with a negative growth of 65.04 percent.

The exports to other countries recorded a negative growth of 27.2 percent, with only 1.478 million tonnes exported.

Industry insiders revealed that after DG Khan Cement, other bigger players also started exploring the US market for cement exports alongside initiating the certification process of their products.