KARACHI: Local cement sales rose year-on-year by 9 per cent to 3.433 million tonnes in May, indicating a slight revival in construction activities.

However, the local sales dipped by 14.36pc to 36.528m tonnes in the July-May period of FY23 compared to 42.655m tonnes in the same period last fiscal year.

At the same time, exports swelled by 210pc year-on-year to 533,155 tonnes in May, but overall shipments shrank by 20pc to 3.990m tonnes in July-May FY23 from 4.972m tonnes in 11MFY22.

Data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) did not mention any reason for the upsurge in overall sales in May.

Yousuf M. Farooq, CFA at Topline Securities, in a market note, said local despatches in May rose due to recovering agriculture incomes and the low base effect of slower sales in April due to Ramazan and Eid holidays.

He said exports remained depressed in 11MFY23 due to the global economic slowdown and uncompetitive prices due to higher domestic production costs.

He said exports surged in May mainly because of falling coal prices which had made foreign sales feasible again, adding that this trend is expected to continue in the coming months.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2023