The total cement despatches during October 2024 were 4.357 million tons, compared to 4.006 million tons despatched during the same month of the last fiscal year, marking an increase of around 9 percent.
Healthy exports were the main driver for this increase, as local despatches showed a slight downtrend during October 2024. According to the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, local cement despatches by the industry during October 2024 were 3.276 million tons, compared to 3.292 million tons in October 2023, showing a decline of 0.49 percent.
Export despatches, on the other hand, increased by 51.29 percent, with volumes rising from 714,325 tons in October 2023 to 1,080,691 tons in October 2024.
In October 2024, North-based cement mills despatched 2.982 million tons of cement, showing an increase of 2.76 percent against 2.902 million tons despatched in October 2023. South-based mills despatched 1.374 million tons of cement during October 2024, which was 24.46 percent more compared to the despatches of 1.104 million tons during October 2023.
North-based cement mills despatched 2.779 million tons of cement in domestic markets in October 2024, showing almost flat growth compared to the despatches of 2.780 million tons in October 2023. South-based mills despatched 496,626 tons of cement in local markets during October 2024, which was 3.06 percent less compared to the despatches of 512,320 tons during October 2023.
Exports from North-based mills increased by 65.83 percent, with quantities rising from 122,326 tons in October 2023 to 202,858 tons in October 2024. Exports from the South also increased by 48.28 percent, reaching 877,833 tons in October 2024 from 591,999 tons during the same month last year.
During the first four months of the current fiscal year, total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 14.633 million tons, which is 7.92 percent lower than the 15.891 million tons despatched during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Domestic despatches during this period were 11.410 million tons, compared to 13.426 million tons during the same period last year, showing a reduction of 15.02 percent. Export despatches, on the other hand, were 30.74 percent higher, with volumes increasing to 3.223 million tons during the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to 2.466 million tons exported during the same period of the last fiscal year.
North-based mills despatched 9.643 million tons of cement domestically during the first four months of the current fiscal year, showing a reduction of 13.23 percent compared to cement despatches of 11.113 million tons during July-October 2023. Exports from the North increased by 28.95 percent to 709,959 tons during July-October 2024, compared with 550,561 tons exported during the same period last year. Total despatches by North-based mills reduced by 11.24 percent to 10.353 million tons during the first four months of the current financial year from 11.664 million tons during the same period of the last financial year.
Domestic despatches by South-based mills during July-October 2024 were 1.767 million tons, showing a reduction of 23.59 percent over 2.312 million tons of cement despatched during the same period of the last fiscal year. Exports from the South increased by 31.25 percent to 2.513 million tons during July-October 2024, compared with 1.915 million tons exported during the same period last year.
Total despatches by South-based mills increased by 1.25 percent to 4.280 million tons during the first four months of the current financial year from 4.227 million tons during the same period of the last financial year.
