The cement industry in Pakistan saw a dispatch increase of 12.53 per cent in February 2026, totalling 4.199Mt, compared with 3.732Mt in the same month of the previous fiscal year. According to data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), local cement dispatches in February 2026 were 3.467Mt, up 8.35 per cent from 3.2Mt in February 2025. Exports also rose significantly by 37.72 per cent, climbing from 531,736t in February 2025 to 732,333t in February 2026.
In February 2026, cement mills in the northern region dispatched 2.856Mt, a 7.66 per cent increase from 2.653Mt in February 2025. Conversely, southern mills dispatched 1.34Mt during the same period, marking a 24.50 per cent increase compared with 1.079Mt dispatched in February 2025.
North-based cement mills delivered 2.856Mt of cement to domestic markets in February 2026, a 9.72 per cent increase from 2.603Mt dispatched in February 2025. Meanwhile, southern mills dispatched 611,239t to local markets, a modest 2.35 per cent increase from 597,177t in February 2025. Notably, there were no exports reported from northern mills in February 2026, while exports from southern mills surged by 51.95 per cent to 732,333t, up from 481,956t in the same month last year.
Cumulative dispatches
Cumulative dispatches during the first eight months of the current fiscal year totalled 34.798 Mt, a 10.86 per cent increase from 31.388 Mt during the same period last year. Of this total, domestic dispatches amounted to 28.503 Mt, up 11.93 per cent from 25.465 Mt in the previous year. Export dispatches increased by 6.27 per cent, reaching 6.295 Mt compared with 5.924 Mt during the corresponding period last year.
For the northern mills, domestic dispatches reached 23.745Mt during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, up 13.15 per cent from 20.985Mt during the same period last year. However, exports from northern mills fell by 27.07 per cent to 803,306t, compared with 1.101Mt in the previous period. Overall, total dispatches from northern mills increased by 11.15 per cent to 24.548Mt, up from 22.086Mt in the same period last year.
Southern mills reported domestic dispatches of 4.758Mt from July 2025 to February 2026, a 6.21 per cent increase from 4.480Mt dispatched during the same period last year. Exports from southern mills also grew by 13.89 per cent to 5.491Mt, compared with 4.822Mt during the previous year. Total dispatches from southern mills increased by 10.19 per cent to 10.250Mt during the first eight months of the current fiscal year, up from 9.302Mt in the same period last year.
Suggestions from the APCMA
A spokesman for the APCMA emphasised the need for the upcoming budget to include concessions for the cement industry. These concessions would help boost off-take and make cement more affordable for consumers, enabling the sector to utilise its idle capacity and achieve economies of scale.
By Abdul Rab Siddiqi, Pakistan
