Domestic cement demand remained sluggish during fiscal year 2024-25, says the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), noting local sales slid from 38.181 million tons in FY2023-24 to 37.017 million tons a year later, a decline of 3.05%.
However, says the APCMA statement, the industry’s exports grew by 29.46% to 9.204 million tons. Combining exports and domestic sales, the industry achieved a marginal growth of 2.05% during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, with 46.221 million tons offloaded compared to 45.291 million tons the year prior.
During June 2025, local cement dispatches totaled 2.597 million tons compared to 3.079 million tons in June 2024, a decline of 15.65%. Exports, meanwhile, jumped by 81.07%, going from 472,865 tons in June 2024 to 859,204 tons in June 2025. Cement dispatches during June 2025 totaled 3.457 million tons against 3.552 million tons of June 2024, a decline of 2.69% year-on-year.
Regionally, North based mills dispatched 2.445 million tons of cement in June 2025 against 2.723 million tons in June 2024, a decline of 10.21%. South based mills dispatched 1.01 million tons cement in June 2025, 21.99% more than the 0.830 million tons dispatched during June 2024.
Of these figures, North based mills provided 2.237 million tons of cement to domestic markets in June 2025, a 14.43% decline from the 2.614 million tons dispatched in June 2024. Similarly, South based mills dispatched 360,814 tons of cement to local markets during June 2025 against 465,578 in June 2024, a 22.5% decline. Exports from North based mills, meanwhile, surged by 91.05% from 108,861 tons in June 2024 to 207,975 tons in June 2025. South-based mills exported 651,229 tons in June 2025 against 364,004 tons in June 2024, an increase of 78.91%.
For fiscal year 2024-25, North-based mills dispatched 30.726 million tons cement domestically, 2.6% less than shipments of 31.545 million tons the previous year. Exports, however, increased by 15.56% to 1.684 million tons from 1.457 million tons the previous year. Total dispatches by North based mills declined by 1.79% to 32.410 million tons from 33.002 million tons the previous fiscal year.
Similarly, South-based mills saw their local shipments decline by 5.21% to 6.291 million tons in FY2024-25 from 6.636 million tons the previous year. Exports improved, however, going from 5.652 million tons to 7.519 million tons, a 33.04% increase. Total dispatches by South based mills surged by 12.38% to 13.811 million tons in FY2024-25 against 12.289 million tons in FY2023-24.
A spokesman for the APCMA said decreasing domestic demand was hindering the industry’s growth and urged the government to reduce duties and taxes. “We must find ways to increase the domestic off-take in order to utilize the idle capacity that will attract economic growth as well as employment opportunities and increased revenue for allied industries,” he added.