LAHORE, April 13: In spite of somewhat slack sales in the first two months of the third quarter of the current fiscal year, total capacity utilization of the cement sector went up to 82 per cent at the end of the quarter on March 31.

A news announcement issued here on Tuesday by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said some seven per cent capacity was being taken up by exports to Afghanistan. Total dispatches during the quarter were in the order of 3.496 million tons, including exports of 289,616 tons.

Total capacity utilization for the first three quarters of the year, including exports, has reached 77.47 per cent. The APCMA is hopeful that the expected growth in the cement demand in the last quarter of the year would help the industry close the year with a capacity utilization in excess of 80 per cent.

This means the sector will be able to achieve a growth rate in excess of 15 per cent this year. APCMA chairman Tariq S. Saigol said the sales figures reinforced the view that the economy was exhibiting signs of growth with the spending on infrastructure and housing leading the way.

He said despite the rapid increase in the demand in March, the price pressure had been successfully coped with and the rates of cement were not allowed to exceed Rs220-230 per bag, depending on brand preferences.

He said, the increased coal prices, standing at $60 a ton, were a continuous source of worry for the industry. "Lately, shortages of furnace oil have also surfaced.

"We hope the government would continue to encourage the construction industry by measures in the budget, which include abolition or reduction in excise duty on cement, reduction in the steel prices that have become a major constraint for the sector, and abolition of import duty on coal.

Should these steps be taken, the APCMA will make commensurate reduction in the rates with a view to passing on this benefit to the consumers," the APCMA chief concluded.