LAHORE - The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association on Saturday issued monthly statistics of cement production and sales in the country. According to the figures, during the month of December 2013, local sales of cement were 2.33 million tons compared to 2.24 million tons during December 2012, showing growth of 3.8%.
Exports also showed improvement after continuous decline during first five months of current fiscal. In December 2013 export volume increased to 625,000 tons compared to 580,000 tons during December 2012 resulting in a growth of 7.8%. The overall exports during July to December 2013 (4.145 million tons) were still 1.8% less than the same period of last fiscal (4.22 Million Tons). After offsetting 1.8% decline in exports, the total sales of cement showed a marginal growth of 1.1% during the first six months of current fiscal over same period during last fiscal year.  Revealing the performance of the cement sector in the first half of the financial year 2013-14, spokesman of All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association in a statement said that the local sales during December 2013 as well as during the first six months were the highest ever domestic despatches in the country. However, the exports remained under pressure and declined by 1.8 percent to 4.145 million tons during the six months.