Karachi:
Demanding reduction in taxes and duties, Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association has said that there has been a slight increase in local cement shipments during November 2024.
Spokesperson Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association said that the cement industry is demanding a reduction in taxes and duties to increase local demand.
He said that during November 2024, the total sales of cement increased by 5.58% and the total sales stood at 4.146 million tons as compared to 3.927 million tons in the same month of the previous financial year.
The spokesperson said that domestic cement sales increased by 2.39% to 3.342 million tonnes in November 2024 as against 3.264 million tonnes in November 2023. Exports increased by 21.27% to 803,258 tonnes from 662,374 tonnes in November.
He said that in November 2024, the cement factories of the northern region sold 2.925 million tons of cement, which was 2.867 million tons in November 2023, an increase of 2.01 percent.
He said that cement factories in southern regions sold 1.220 million tons of cement in November 2024, which was 15.21 percent higher than 1.060 million tons in November 2023.
A spokesman for the association said that during the first 5 months of the current financial year, the total sales of cement (domestic and exports) stood at 18.779 million tonnes, which is 5.24% less than the sales of 19.818 million tonnes in the same period of the previous financial year. .
According to the spokesman, the sale of local cement in 5 months was 14.752 million tons with a decrease of 11.61% compared to 16.690 million tons in the same period last year.
He said that the exports for 5 months increased by 28.73%, exports increased from 3.128 million tonnes to 4.027 million tonnes.
Reiterating the demand from the government, he said that reduction in taxes and duties is essential to increase sales of cement, especially local demand, reduction in duties and taxes will reduce prices and increase demand.
Spokesman Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association said that by reducing the duty taxes, the unutilized production capacity of the cement sector can be exploited.
