Pakistani cement makers

The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) says that cement manufacturers have not increased cement prices and assured that prices will not be increased in the future. This was informed by Tariq Saeed Saigol, chairman APCMA, during a meeting with Liaquat Ali Jatoi, the federal minister for industries and production, held to review cement prices and the cement industry situation. The APCMA said the recent increase in prices is by market forces and due to the role of middlemen and also due to the sudden increase in demand for cement with the beginning of summer season and commissioning of various large construction projects.

He further assured that necessary steps to increase the production of cement have been taken and required quantities of cement will be made available in the domestic market. It was informed that currently the manufacturers were producing more than 17Mt of cement, which will increase by 19Mt by next year due to maximum capacity utilisation and enhancing of capacity.

The meeting noted that there has been some increase in cement prices in the recent past and the national average price of cement has increased from Rs 222 per bag in November last year to Rs 230 per bag on March 10. A review of the current prices collected for the week ended on March 11, indicates an increase of 1.77 percent as compared to the previous week. The price of cement increased by 20.93 percent if compared with the corresponding week of last year when the price was Rs 190.20 per bag, according to data compiled by the Federal Bureau of Statistics.