Pakistan cement exports in the month of December hit $19.253m, witnessing a drop of 8.6 percent Year on Year, as compared to $21 posted in December 2019.

As per the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the exports decline comes on the back of the closure of ports, lower trade activity on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, and drop in international demand owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Month on Month basis, cement exports inched up 6.2pc as compared to $18.129mn in November 2020. As per the data, the export volumes increased to 593,215 tonnes in December 2020 from 498,091 tonnes in November 2020 and 551,729 tonnes then in December 2019, showing an increase of 19pc MoM and 7.5pc YoY.

In the first six months of FY20-21 (July-December 2020) cement exports were down 1.6pc YoY to $142.927mn from $145.26mn.

This comes as the output of Pakistan's Large-Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMIs), including cement production, witnessed an increase of 14.5pc YoY in November 2020, and of 7.4pc YoY in 5MFY20-21.