LAHORE     -   The cement manufacturers have urged the government to support the industry by reducing taxes and placing anti-dumping duty on the Iranian cement to make the cement more affordable for consumers. In this way, the product’s demand will be increased, resulting in capacity enhancement of the industry, besides generating job opportunities. The industry stakeholders said that Pakistan has the most efficient cement industry that has made inroads even into the Indian market despite tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. If the government is interested in reducing the cement rates then it should reduce the levies on domestic production, they proposed. Industry experts said this abrupt decline in domestic cement uptake has taken the cement manufacturers by surprise, expressing hope that this was a one off decline and the growth would gather pace in coming months. The industry was rightly worried because they have made tremendous investment to increase capacity that has now crossed 50 million tons a year. This expansion was made on the assumption that construction activities would continue to grow at a rapid pace in the long-term.