KARACHI: The overall cement sales fell by two per cent to 7m tonnes in the first two months of 2018-19.

Exports of the commodity however jumped by 21.5pc to 1.076m tonnes, while local sales dropped by 5.31pc to 5.930m tonnes during the July-Aug period.

Spokesman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said the industry was expecting a slower growth in domestic uptake as witnessed a month earlier but never expected a negative growth. He said that in July the overall sales grew by 5pc while in August it shrank by 8pc.

Industry is still hopeful of a rapid turnaround as the new government has promised to construct 1m new houses every year. Once this programme is energised, the growth would likely accelerate, he added.

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2018