LAHORE - During the first quarter of current fiscal year, the cement industry posted a growth of 2.17 per cent in local sales compared with sales during first quarter of last fiscal year. Exports however recorded a decline by 1.40 per cent compared with exports during the first quarter of last year.
All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association, in a statement, said that the overall situation during first quarter of current fiscal year showed 1.12% growth compared to the same period of last fiscal year. After negative growth in cement dispatches during the first two months of this fiscal year, the industry recorded robust growth in September.
 by dispatching 2.951 million tons of cement compared with 2.611 million tons dispatched in September last year, showing growth of 13.01%.
The exports were down by 0.75 percent in July, 3.29 percent in August and 0.39 percent in September 2013. The cement exports have been declining continuously during the last 15 months and the industry is now mainly depending on domestic market. In the first quarter of this fiscal year, the cement despatches were 7.796 million tons compared to 7.710 million tons during same period last year.