LAHORE – Domestic cement demand remained sluggish during the fiscal year 2024-25.
According to the data released by the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Wednesday, local sales dropped from 38.181 million tons in 2023-24 to 37.017 million tons in 2024-25, showing a decline by 3.05 per cent.
On the export side, the industry was able to achieve a healthy growth by 29.46% as the volumes increased to 9.204 million tons during the fiscal year ended 30th June, 2025, compared to 7.11 million tons during the last fiscal year.
Overall, the industry was able to achieve a marginal growth of 2.05% during the fiscal year ending on 30th June 2025, with volumes of 46.221 million tons compared to 45.291 million tons during the last fiscal year.
During June 2025, local cement sales were 2.597 million tons compared to 3.079 million tons in June 2024, showing a decline of 15.65%. Exports jumped by a massive 81.7% as the volumes increased from 472,865 tons in June 2024 to 859,204 tons in June 2025. Total cement sales during June 2025 were 3.457 million tons against 3.552 million tons during the same month of the last fiscal year, showing a decline of 2.69%.
In June 2025, north-based mills dispatched 2.445 million tons of cement, showing a decline of 10.21% against 2.723 million tons in June 2024. South-based mills dispatched 1.01 million tons of cement during June 2025, which was 21.99% more compared to 0.830 million tons during June 2024.
North-based mills dispatched 2.237 million tons of cement in domestic markets in June 2025, showing a decline of 14.43% against 2.614 million tons in June 2024. South-based mills dispatched 360,814 tons of cement in local markets during June 2025, which was 22.5% less compared to 465,578 during June 2024.
Exports from north-based mills jumped by 91.05% as the quantities increased from 108,861 tons in June 2024 to 207,975 tons in June 2025. Exports from the south also increased by 78.91% to 651,229 tons in June 2025 from 364,004 tons during the same month last year.
During the fiscal year ended 30th June, 2025, north-based mills dispatched 30.726 million tons of cement domestically, showing a reduction of 2.6% over 31.545 million tons during July 2023-June 2024. Exports from the north increased by 15.56% to 1.684 million tons during July 2024-June 2025 compared with 1.457 million tons during the last fiscal year.
Total dispatches by north-based mills reduced by 1.79% to 32.410 million tons during the fiscal year ended 30th June, 2025, from 33.002 million tons during the last fiscal year.
Domestic dispatches by south-based mills during 2024-25 were 6.291 million tons, showing a reduction of 5.21% over 6.636 million tons during the last fiscal year. Exports from the south showed a healthy increase by 33.04% to 7.519 million tons during 2024-25 compared with 5.652 million tons during the last fiscal year. Total dispatches by south-based mills increased by 12.38% to 13.811 million tons during the fiscal year ended 30th June, 2025, from 12.289 million tons during the last fiscal year.
APCMA spokesman said that decreasing domestic demand is a major hindrance to the growth of the cement industry. He appealed to the government to cut duties and taxes, as cement is not a luxury item but a basic necessity. “We must find ways to increase the domestic off-take to utilise the idle capacity that will attract economic growth as well as employment opportunities and increased revenue for allied industries”, he said.
