The export of cement is likely to go up remarkably high during the month of July 2023. The financial experts are of the opinion that it may go high by 159 percent year-on-year, reaching 0.4 million tons.
One of the main reasons for the increasing exports is the falling prices of coal at global market. The upward trend in the exports of cement is a healthy sign for Pakistans economy. However the situation of sale of cement locally is not encouraging during the same month.
The cement sales during July 2023, is expected to be around 21-25 percent on a month-on-month basis. The performance of construction sector is not good due to a number of factors including the rising costs of raw materials, labor and transportation but during the monsoon season, the construction?activities are generally slowed down in the country and the decreasing sales of cement is also due to the current heavy rains.
During the month of July this year, the average sales of cement in the country are expected to be around 89,000 ton per day, depicting the downward trend as compared to the average per day sales of 97,000 tons during this month over the past five years.
The total sales of cement during July are projected to witness an increase of 53-57 per cent year-on-year touching the figure of 3.2 million tons during the month of July 2023. This includes the local sales and considerable boost in the exports.
The domestic sales are expected to go up by 44-48 -per cent year-on-year, touching the figure of 2.8 million tons. The increase is influenced by a low effect caused by last years crushing floods and prolonged monsoon which had badly affected the cement industry.
The downward movement in construction activities and controlled Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) spending are challenges for the cement industry.