Cement sales rise almost 9 % in October 2024 due to higher exports

ISLAMABAD: Total cement shipments during October 2024 were 4.357 million tonnes as against 4.006 million tonnes shipped during the corresponding month of the previous fiscal, an increase of 8.74%.

Healthy exports were the main driver of this increase as domestic shipments witnessed a slight downward trend during October 2024. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, the domestic cement shipment by the industry during the month of October 2024 was 3.276 million tonnes. 3.292 million tonnes in October 2023, showing a decrease of 0.49%.

Export shipments, on the other hand, increased by 51.29% as volume increased from 714,325 tonnes in October 2023 to 1,080,691 tonnes in October 2024.

In October 2024, North-based cement mills shipped 2.982 million tonnes of cement, up 2.76% from 2.902 million tonnes in October 2023. 1.104 million tonnes during October 2023.

North-based cement mills shipped 2.779 million tonnes of cement to local markets in October 2024, showing almost flat growth compared to shipments of 2.780 million tonnes in October 2023. 512,320 remittances during October 2023.

Exports from north-based mills grew by 65.83 percent as volumes increased from 122,326 tonnes in October 2023 to 202,858 tonnes in October 2024. Exports from South also increased by 48.28% to 877,833 tonnes.

The total shipment of cement (domestic and exports) during the first four months of the current financial year was 14.633 million tonnes, which is 7.92% less than the 15.891 million tonnes shipped during the same period of the previous financial year. Domestic shipments during this period stood at 11.410 million tonnes as against 13.426 million tonnes during the same period last year, showing a decrease of 15.02%. Exports, on the other hand, are 30.74 percent higher as the volume has increased to 3.223 million tonnes during the first four months of the current financial year compared to 2.466 million tonnes in the same period of the previous financial year.

North-based mills shipped 9.643 million tonnes of cement domestically during the first four months of the current fiscal year, a decline of 13.23 percent compared to the shipment of 11.113 million tonnes during July-October 2023. Compared to July-October 2024, 550,561 tonnes were exported during the same period last year. During the first four months of the current fiscal year, total shipments of north-based mills declined by 11.24 percent to 10.353 million tonnes from 11.664 million tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

Domestic shipments by south-based mills during July-October 2024 were 1.767 million tonnes, showing a decline of 23.59% compared to 2.312 million tonnes of cement shipped during the same period last fiscal. Exports from the south rose 31.25 percent to 2.513 million tonnes during July-October 2024 as against 1.915 million tonnes during the same period last year. During the first four months of the current fiscal year, the total shipments of the south-based mills increased by 1.25 percent to 4.280 million tonnes as against 4.227 million tonnes during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.