KARACHI - Cement sales in the domestic market declined by 9.32 per cent to 1.778 million tons during the month of February 2011 while cement exports sales was stood at 0.710 million tons, showing an increase of 25.39 per cent in growth when compared to the last month (January) of this year, the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association reported on Monday. According to the recent data issued by APCMA, cement sales during the first eight months (July-February) of current fiscal year 2010-11 dropped by 8.49 per cent to 13.794 million tons. Similarly, the exports sales came at 5.904 million tons, down 14.81 per cent during the same period. Total cement sales for the period from July 2010 to February 2011 was recorded at 19.699 million tons, depicting 10.48 per cent decline over the same period of last year. Out of total operational cement production capacity of 41.235 million ton, 34.264 million ton is in the northern part of the country while 6.970 million ton is in South. Another 2.68 million ton capacity will be added this fiscal with operation of new plant of Fauji Cement, APCMA revealed. The capacity utilisation of the cement industry has constantly declined since 2004-05 when it reached a peak of 91.32 per cent. In 2009-10 it dropped to 76.53 per cent while during the first eight months of this fiscal the capacity utilisation has been 71.66 per cent only, it said. The mills operating in the north lost almost all export orders through sea because of exorbitant transport charges from their plants to the sea ports. The transportation cost has made the cement export unviable for plants located in the upper parts of the country said a spokesman of the APCMA. He said the cement market in Afghanistan is limited and all the 14 units operating in the north compete with each other to grab the Afghan market. This, he added, has brought down the export rates to very low levels. He said Afghanistan is a land locked country and if it imports cement from anywhere else in the world it would cost $60 per ton. Pakistani exporters, he added, are exporting the commodity at $42 per ton only. He said it is high time for the government to intervene and fix minimum export price to Afghanistan at $55 per ton. He said this would keep the foreign competitors at bay and fetch sizable additional foreign exchange for the country. He further said the exports to India declined by 23.99 per cent during this period from 0.421 million ton last fiscal to 0.320 million ton during corresponding period this year. Exports to Afghanistan, however, increased by 16.81 per cent in the first eight months of this fiscal to 2.818 million ton. During the first half of current fiscal year, 7 cement units suffered loss before taxation aggregating to Rs2.375 billion while only 3 cement units, of which 2 are located near Karachi in close proximity to the sea port, earned profit of Rs2.088 billion. At the end of last fiscal, industry debts to financial institution are over Rs125 billion. Cement sector experts have urged the government to rescue the ailing cement industry that has posted huge losses last fiscal and in the first half of this financial year. They pointed out that energy is the major input cost of cement industry and the rates of all fuels like gas, coal and diesel and furnace oil have increased extraordinarily.