KARACHI: Construction activities continued to remain subdued due to high building material prices, the start of the winter season and political uncertainty thus causing an 18 per cent drop in overall cement sales during the first five months (5MFY23) and 6.4pc in November.

Exports also suffered a massive decline of 78.77pc over November 2021 and 46.4pc during July-November FY23 as compared to the same period last fiscal year owing to an economic slowdown in world markets.

As per data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Friday, total cement despatches declined by 17pc in November from 4.009 million tonnes as against 4.820m tonnes in November 2021.

Local cement sales by the industry during November were 3.862m tonnes as compared to 4.125mn tonnes in November 2021, down by 6.4pc. Exports also fell from 695,779 tonnes in November 2021 to 147,757 tonnes in November.

During the first five months of the current fiscal year, total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were 22pc lower at 17.883m tonnes from 22.861m tonnes during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. Domestic offtake during this period was 16.354m tonnes as against 20.008m tonnes during the same period last year. Export reduced to 1.529m tonnes during 5MFY23 compared to 2.853m tonnes during the same period of last fiscal year.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2022