D.G. Khan Cement official upbeat over industry's export potential

Executive Director of D.G. Khan Cement Company Farid Fazal said on Wednesday that Pakistan’s cement sector had immense export potential and suggested that the industry look towards markets including the United States.

DGKC has received an order to export 600,000 tons of low-alkali cement to the United States per year which will fetch approximately $360 million for the country.

“Our second consignment of 37,500 tons loaded on vessel ABU AL ABYAD has left for Houston, Texas, USA this morning,” said Fazal while talking to the media in Karachi.

He added that the first consignment of 50,000 tons was dispatched in June last year, making Pakistan one of the 25 countries exporting cement to the US.

“This is for the first time in the history of Pakistan that cement is being exported to the USA market,” Fazal said.

He added that the third consignment will leave for the US next month and considering the quality of Pakistani cement, the country could achieve a 10 to 15% share in the US market.

"Besides, the company is in talks with buyers from London, France, and Germany and soon the company will be entering the European market after getting CE certification," he added.

“We have lots of surplus cement and as the supply is much greater than the demand, manufacturers are not utilizing their full capacity, hence we need to explore new markets.”

He added that the country needed to expand its exports to big markets like the US as the demand for construction materials had increased manifold with buyers looking for new sources of supply following President Joe Biden's $6 trillion infrastructure package.

Under this package, all mega infrastructure projects including freeways, bridges, and roads will be rebuilt or given facelifts as some of these were constructed almost a century ago.

“It took us 12 months to get the technical certifications for the supply of cement to the markets in the USA from TXDOT, NCDOT, SCDOT, and LODOT,” said Farid.

He added that the US was a huge market and due to strict environmental laws, it was very difficult to put up a cement factory their requirements for cement are met by imports from Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, and Turkey.

“After the good response our cement received in Houston, I was invited to make a presentation at the International Cement Conference 'INTERCEM’ in Houston which generated a great number of inquiries and prospective customers,” said Farid.

He added that the local cement industry had a capacity of 65 million tons and domestic consumption was just 45 million tons and exports were just 4 to 5 million tons.

DGKC is among the largest manufacturers in Pakistan with a production capacity of 25,000 tons of cement per day (7.500 million tons/annum). The company has three cement plants located at Dera Ghazi Khan, Kalar Kahar, and Hub.