LAHORE - The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) has stressed the need for reduction in duties and taxes to bring down the prices of cement and facilitate consumers which would also help industry to grow as it is playing a vital role in the development of the country.

The industry not only absorbed the 11.7 percent duty on coal import but also the increase in coal price from $54 in May 2016 to $105 now, yet they are being charged for fleecing consumers, industry stakeholders said. Even with higher taxes and input cost, the cement rates in the country are cheaper than neighbouring India (around $4.85 to $5.35) and Sri Lanka ($5.84 to $6.14). The strength and quality of Pakistani cement is superior to that of cement produced in neighbouring countries. This is the reason that Pakistan exports cement to almost all its neighbours.

“The factors contributing to decline in exports include increase in fuel prices and other input cost, and the most damaging was the barriers erected by the countries we export to, such as anti-dumping duty imposed by South Africa to protect its local industry,” industry stakeholders said.

Moreover, to discourage imports, the tariff is around 19 percent in India including 3 percent education cess to promote education in the country, which makes it difficult to compete with other exporting countries which have lesser input cost, they added.

There is a strong growth in the cement dispatches albeit a continuous decline in exports over the last few years. The country exported 8.57 million tons of cement in 2012-13 which has gradually dropped about 46 percent to 5.87 million tons in 2015-16. However, the rise in local consumption helped the industry to stay afloat. While the world is strengthening barriers on import to promote local industries, it is surprising that some quarters are promoting imports against local industrialisation in Pakistan which beats all the economic theories. Those demanding zero duty on cement imports should see the fate of other energy intensive industries like tiles and tyres after reduction in duties because energy cost in Pakistan is highest in the region, stakeholders said.

In order to meet the massive demand taking place in the country due to various government and CPEC projects coming up, the industry has gone in for an expansion in its capacity from 44 million tons to 60 million tons within two to three years. In this scenario it would be foolish to even think of importing cement, they added.