Cement exports have posted healthy growth of 25 percent during February 2011 as compared to January 2011. However, local cement sales have registered a decline of 9.32 percent. Cement sales for domestic market was 1.778 million tons in February 2011 while exports sales was 0.710 million tons.
During the first eight months of current fiscal the cement sales for domestic market was 13.794 million tons declined by 8.49 percent while the exports sales was 5.904 million tons declined by 14.81 percent during the same period. Total cement sales for the period from July 2010 to February 2011 was 19.699 million tons declined by 10.48 percent compared to corresponding period. "The capacity utilisation of the cement industry has constantly declined since 2004-05 when it reached a peak of 91.32 percent. In 2009-10 it dropped to 76.53 percent while during the first eight months of this fiscal the capacity utilisation has been 71.66 percent only," said a spokesman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). The mills operating in the north lost almost all export orders through sea because of exorbitant transport charges from their plants to the sea ports, he added.
During the first half of current fiscal year, 7 cement units suffered loss before taxation aggregating to Rs 2.375 billion while only 3 cement units, of which 2 are located near Karachi in close proximity to the sea port, earned profit of Rs 2.088 billion. At the end of last fiscal, industry debts to financial institution are over Rs 125 billion. Cement sector experts have urged the government to rescue the ailing cement industry that has posted huge losses last fiscal and in the first half of this financial year. They pointed out that energy is the major input cost of cement industry and the rates of all fuels like gas, coal, and diesel and furnace oil have increased extraordinarily.