Pakistan dispatches drop in May, slip in 11MFY19-20

All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) released local/overseas dispatches data for May and the 11MFY19-20.

May 2020
Total cement dispatches (domestic + export volumes) were only 2.63Mt in May 2020 against 4.12Mt in May 2019 representing a 36.1 per cent drop. The decline in cement dispatches is mainly due to Ramzan, COVID-19 and Eid holidays, which slow the construction activity.

Domestic cement consumption in the north was 2Mt in May 2020 against 3.05Mt in May 2019. Consumption in the south declined to 0.269Mt from 0.589Mt in May 2019. Similarly, exports from the north declined to 7520t this May, compared with 0.164Mt last May. The south, which is the hub of cement exports, saw a nominal increase from 0.319Mt in May 2019 to 0.356Mt in May 2020.

Dispatches in 11MFY19-20
During the first 11 months of the FY19-20, total cement dispatches were 43.189Mt against 43.327Mt in the equivalent period of FY18-19, posting a decline of 0.3 per cent. Of this total, domestic consumption in this period declined by 2.7 per cent to 36.13Mt from 37.14Mt in the corresponding year-ago period. Exports increased by 14.1 per cent to 7.059Mt in the 11MFY19-20 from 6.188Mt in the corresponding period last year.
 
Domestic dispatches in the north stood at 30.94Mt during July 2019-May 2020 against 29.61Mt in the year-ago period, posting a less-than-anticipated growth of 4.5 per cent. However, exports from the region during the period under review declined by 19.2 per cent, dropping from 2.38Mt to just 1.924Mt.

The south dispatched 5.18Mt cement locally during the 11MFY19-20, declining by 31.1 per cent from 7.53Mt during the same period last year. However, exports registered a healthy increase of 34.9 per cent, going up from 3.81Mt to 5.13Mt during the period under review.

APCMA grievances
"The cement sector has been in dire state for the last few months. It posted a growth of 31 per cent in domestic cement consumption in February this year and after that the decline has been consistent, being 16.69 per cent in March, 18.97 per cent April and now almost double in May," said the spokesperson of APCMA.

"The progress on the export front has also been gloomy as it posted a growth of over 48 per cent in February; which declined to 5.67 per cent in March; posted a massive decline of 56.60 per cent in April and 24.81 per cent in May.

"The negative growth is due to COVID-19 impact and the delay in implementing public sector development projects," they added.

"The government should realise that the construction sector is the largest provider of employment to the unskilled workforce in Pakistan and decline in cement consumption means low construction activities and substantial increase in unemployment in the country."

APCMA highlighted that the impact of the construction package announced by the government is yet to be seen in industry dispatches.