Cement exports increase 11.79pc during July-October 2020

ISLAMABAD: The exports of cement from the country witnessed an increase of 11.79 percent during the first four months of ongoing financial year (2020-21) as compare to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.

The country exported cement worth US $150.544 million during July-October (2020-21) as against the exports of US $94.409 million during July-October (2019-20), showing growth of 11.79 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, the exports of cement increased by 32.51 percent by going up from 2,437,565 metric tons to 3,230,058 metric tons, according to the data.

Meanwhile, on year-to-year basis, the exports of cement rose by 20.31 percent during the month of October 2020 as compared to the same month of last year.

The exports of cement from the country during October 2020 were recorded at $33.249 million against the exports of $27.636 million in October 2019.

On month-on-month basis, the exports of cement rose by 19.65 percent during October 2020 as compared to the exports of $27.788 million in September 2020, the PBS data revealed.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandize trade deficit decreased by 1.36 percent during the first four months of current fiscal year (2020-21) as compared to the deficit of the corresponding period of last year.

The deficit during July-October (2020-21) was recorded at $7.617 billion as compared to the deficit of $7.722 billion, showing decrease of 1.36 percent.

During the period under review, the country’s exports registered positive growth of 0.62 percent, by going up from $7.529 billion last year to $7.576 billion during the current year.

On the other hand, the imports decreased by 0.38 percent, from $15.251 billion last year to $15.193 billion during the current year.