Pakistan: Total cement sales in Pakistan have remained flat during the first five months of the 2011/12 fiscal year.
From July to November 2011 sales were 12.42Mt compared to 12.54Mt to the same period in 2010/11. It is expected that exports are likely to decline by 4% to 3.75Mt as demand from Pakistan's major export markets in the Middle East have been slowing down on account of subdued economic activity. Monthly sales figures for November 2011 are expected to show a decline by 12% on a year-on-year basis to 2.12Mt. This has mainly been driven by a 14% decline in exports to 0.59Mt compared to 0.68Mt in the same period in 2010/11.
This national trend was repeated locally in Karachi where sales underwent a tiny improvement to 8.67Mt in the first five months of 2011/12 compared to 8.62Mt in the same period in the pervious year. Local sales declined by 11% to 1.53Mt compared to 1.73Mt in November 2010 due to a slowdown in construction activities in northern Pakistan. Despite low sales it is expected that Karachi will perform well in the Pakistan sector due to improved pricing power after the adoption of 'price discipline strategies'.
