August 15, 2007	Wednesday	Sha’aban 1, 1428

NEW DELHI, Aug 14: Fifteen Pakistani firms have sought approvals to sell cement to India, which is facing a shortage to feed hectic construction activity in the rapidly growing economy, a minister said in parliament on Tuesday.

Junior Commerce Minister Jairam Ramesh did not disclose the name of the firms or the quantity that will be imported in his written reply to law-makers questions.

The Pakistani firms have sought clearance certificates from the Bureau of Indian Standards to sell the cement in India, he said.

Earlier this month, Pakistani Commerce Secretary Syed Asif Shah said in New Delhi the first consignment of cement from his country would arrive in India by the end of August. Pakistan has an annual production capacity of 37-38 million tons, while it consumes only 22-25 million tons. ndia's cement supplies grew 7 per cent to 41.60 million tons during April-June from a year earlier, data from the Cement Manufacturers' Association showed, but demand expanded by 10 per cent in the same period.

This had pushed up prices by about 10 per cent from a year earlier.

India’s top cement producers such as Grasim Industries Ltd and UltraTech Cement and ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd, both partly owned by Switzerland's Holcim are running almost at full capacity.—Reuters