ISLAMABAD           -           The exports of cement during the first six months of current financial year (2019-20) witnessed decline of 7.48 percent as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Pakistan exported cement worth $145.265 million during July-December (2019-20) against the exports of $157.006 million during July-December (2018-19), showing negative growth of 7.48 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the exports of cement grew by 2.59 percent from 3,671,485 metric tons to 3,766,631 metric tons, according to the data. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the cement exports however dipped by 18.64 percent during the month of December 2019 as compared to the same month of last year. The cement exports in December 2019 were recorded at $ 21.062 million against the exports of $25.888 million in December 2018, the PBS data revealed. On month-on-month basis also the export of cement decreased by 29.31 percent in December 2019 as compared to the exports of $29.794 million in November 2019. It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 33.67 percent during the first six months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same month of last year.