Cement sales pick up less than expected

Domestic cement dispatches did not pick up as expected in February 2025, though they had increased 11.64% in January after many months of decline.

According to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, local cement dispatches by the industry reached 3.065 million tons in February as compared to 2.869 million tons in February last year, showing an increase of 6.82%.

Exports, however, rose 34.30% as volumes jumped from 395,935 tons in February 2024 to 531,736 tons in February 2025. Total dispatches in February 2025 came in at 3.596 million tons against 3.265 million tons in the same month of last year, exhibiting a rise of 10.15%.

North-based cement mills sold 2.556 million tons, higher by 5.06% against sales of 2.433 million tons in February 2024. Southern mills supplied 1.04 million tons to markets, which was 25.04% higher than dispatches of 0.831 million tons in February 2024.

North-based mills dispatched 2.507 million tons to domestic markets, up 7.22% from sales of 2.338 million tons in February 2024. Similarly, southern mills sold 557,895 tons in local markets, up 5.06% as compared to 531,044 in February 2024.

Exports by north-based mills suffered a massive drop of 47.82% as shipments contracted from 95,393 tons in February 2024 to 49,780 tons in February 2025. On the other hand, exports from south surged 60.36% to 481,956 tons against 300,542 tons in February last year. During the first eight months (Jul-Feb) of the current fiscal year (FY25), total cement dispatches (domestic sales and exports) stood at 30.423 million tons, which was 0.45% lower than sales of 30.560 million tons in the corresponding period of last year.

Domestic sales were 24.5 million tons in Jul-Feb FY25 against 26.06 million tons in the same period of last year, registering a reduction of 6%. Exports, however, went up 31.78% to 5.924 million tons as compared to 4.495 million tons in the same period of last year.

North-based mills sold 20.36 million tons in domestic markets in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, down 5.28% from dispatches of 21.49 million tons in Jul-Feb FY24. Exports from north increased 20.42% to 1.101 million tons during Jul-Feb FY25 against 0.914 million tons exported in the same period of last year. Total dispatches by north-based mills decreased 4.23% to 21.462 million tons during the first eight months of FY25 from 22.410 million tons in the same period of last year.

Domestic dispatches by south-based mills remained at 4.139 million tons in Jul-Feb FY25, showing a reduction of 9.42% over 4.570 million tons in the same period of last year. Exports from south rose 34.68% to 4.822 million tons as compared with 3.580 million tons in the eight month of last fiscal year. Total dispatches by southern mills increased 9.96% to 8.962 million tons in Jul-Feb FY25.

A spokesman for the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association mentioned that they expected the government to announce industry-friendly measures in the upcoming budget to help increase capacity utilisation. “The cement industry attracts many allied industries and plays a pivotal role in the overall economic uplift,” he said.