LAHORE -  The capacity utilization of the cement industry during the first seven months of this fiscal reached 91.28 percent which is the highest since 2004-05 while this utilization was reported as 99.11 percent in the period of Jan 2018.

Industry experts said that the sector is quite hopeful that the present growth momentum in cement sector will continue and absorb the upcoming production capacities of around 15 million tons in next three to four years.

According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers' Association (APCMA), out of total cement despatches of 4.084 million tons in January the domestic consumption was 3.737 million tons.

Cement consumption in North zone was 3.018 million tons and surged by 41.68 percent in January 2018 compared to same month last year, which lead the domestic growth. This is the second time this fiscal that cement consumption in Northern zone of the country exceeded 3 million tons.

The consumption in the Southern zone of the country was also robust being 0.719 million tons compared with 0.591 million tons during the corresponding month of last fiscal. During the first seven months of current fiscal cement industry despatched 26.327 million tons while during seven months of last fiscal the total despatches were 22.904 million tons.

The growth in domestic consumption of cement during the first seven months of this fiscal was 20.17 percent, however, overall increase in cement despatches was restricted to 14.94 percent due to 16.25 percent decline in cement exports during the period under consideration. During the year under review, diesel and coal prices have continuously gone up which increased the cost of production.