Cement production increases 12.13pc in 7 months

ISLAMABAD: The cement production witnessed growth of 12.13 during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The country produced 23,772,000 tonnes of cement during July-January (2017-18) against the production of 21,201,000 tonnes during July-January (2016-17), showing 12.13 percent increase in production, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

On year-on-year basis, the cement production witnessed increase of 23.48 during the month of January 2018 compared to the production of January 2017.

The cement production during January 2018 was recorded at 3,644,000 tonnes against the production of 2,951,000 tonnes in January 2017, the data revealed.

Meanwhile, the production of cotton cloth witnessed nominal growth of 0.03 percent in during July-January (2017-18) reaching 609,635,000 square meters against the production of 609,450,000 square meters during the corresponding period of last year.

The cotton cloth production, on year-on-year basis, increased from 87,250,000 square meters to 87,275,000 square meters, showing nominal increase of 0.03 percent.

The production of cigarettes during the first seven months of the current year inflated by 76.94 percent by growing from 19,323 million in July-January (2016-17) to 34,191 million during the current year.

On year-on-year basis, the production of cigarettes increased by 131.53 percent by growing from 2,239 million in January 2017 to 5,184 million in January 2018.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) of the country witnessed growth of 6.33 percent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The country’s LSMI Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) was recorded at 142.05 points during July-January (2017-18) against 133.60 points during July-January (2016-17), showing growth of over 6.33 per cent.

The highest growth of 4.46 percent was witnessed in the indices monitored by Ministry of Industries, followed by 1.28 percent growth in the products monitored by Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS) and 0.59 growth in the indices of Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC).