Pakistan July-November export volumes down

Pakistan exports fell to 2.63Mt in the first five months of the current fiscal, down 32.62 per cent YoY, official government data reveals. In terms of revenue, exports declined 35.79 per cent during the July-November 2015 period to US$147.55m.

On positive note, in November 2015 alone, Pakistan exported cement 569,620t at US$30.122m compared to 534,889t at $29.72m, translating to a MoM rise of 6.49 and 1.33 per cent in quantity and dollar value, respectively. However, compared with November 2014 exports of 769,895t at US$45.72, there was a YoY drop of 26.01 and 31.80 per cent in terms of volume and value, respectively.

Exports to Afghanistan were down by 20.63 per cent with dispatches only amounting to 1.108Mt. However, exports to India rose by 9.8 per cent. Shipments to other Pakistan export markets around the world declined by 36 per cent.

Commenting on the reductions, a spokesperson for the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) said that government planners are still failing to check unregulated imports of Iranian
cement into the country at under invoiced rates. The same cement, he added, is finding its ways in the Afghan markets in which Pakistan's share has been reduced by 20.63 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year.

He added that due to high cost of doing business in country, Pakistani cement industry is losing competitiveness to other countries such as Iran, UAE and India, and has appealed for reduction in energy costs, removal of the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), abolition of custom duty on coal and additional incentive of five per cent on export of cement by sea.