KARACHI: Domestic cement sales dropped by 16 per cent year-on-year to 40 million tonnes in the just-ended fiscal year because of a slowdown in construction and high costs. Oil sales also fell 26pc to 16.6m tonnes.
Data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) showed that total cement sales (domestic and exports) were 44.58m tonnes during the 2022-23 fiscal year, down 16pc from a year ago. Exports were down 13pc to 4.57m tonnes.
In June, total cement despatches fell 23pc to 4.05m tonnes from 5.26m in the same month a year ago.
Local cement sales in June were 3.49m tonnes compared to 4.98m tonnes in June 2022, down 30pc. Exports more than doubled to 576,309 tonnes in June from 284,471 tonnes a year ago.
Oil sales also drop 26pc in FY23
Oil sales
According to Arif Habib Limited, oil sales of 16.6m tonnes in the previous fiscal year were the lowest-ever sales since available data (2006-07), excluding the Covid period.
However, total oil sales slightly rose by 4pc to 1.34m tonnes in June from 1.3m tonnes in May, but were 32pc lower compared to 1.94m tonnes in June 2022.
In June, petrol sales grew by 7pc to 0.64m tonnes from 0.6m tonnes in May but were down 9pc compared to 0.7m tonnes in June last year. Total petrol sales in 2022-23 shrank 17pc to 7.4m tonnes from 8.95m tonnes in FY22.
Sales of high-speed diesel in June remained unchanged at 0.54m tonnes compared to May but plunged 24pc compared to 0.71m tonnes in June 2022.
Total diesel sales fell 28pc to 6.37m tonnes in 2022-23 compared to 8.87m tonnes a year ago, the lowest sales since fiscal 2027.
Furnace oil sales surged by 10pc in June to 0.10m tonnes from 0.09m tonnes in May. However, they plummeted 78pc compared to June 2022 sales of 0.45m tonnes. Total furnace oil sales almost halved to 2.06m tonnes in 2022-23 from 4.02m tonnes a year ago.
According to Nasheed Malik of Topline Securities, petrol sales in June rose due to the seasonal effects of holidays, summer vacations and slightly lower prices compared to May, while furnace oil sales in June increased due to higher demand for power generation.
Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2023
