Pakistan: Cement sales, including exports, in the fiscal year that ended on 30 June 2015, grew by 3.5% year-on-year to 35.4Mt, according to Topline Securities. On a month-on-month basis sales grew by 9% to 3.3Mt in June 2015.

Domestic sales grew by 8% year-on-year to 28.3Mt in the 2015 fiscal year, better than the average 5% growth seen in the last five years. This was due to an increase in private sector expenditure on construction and housing, an improved security situation, improving macroeconomic indicators and higher government infrastructure spending. On month-on-month basis, domestic sales grew by 12% to a record 2.8Mt in June 2015.

Export dispatches in the 2015 fiscal year fell by 12% year-on-year to 7.2Mt, which was attributed to falling exports to Afghanistan, due to competition from low-priced Iranian cement and political instability in the country. In June 2015, export sales declined by 4% month-on-month to 540,000t.

Cement demand in the 2015 fiscal year, which started on 1 July 2015, are expected to improve further on the back of higher development spending, the initiation of projects due to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, favourable macroeconomic indicators and lower interest rates. Additionally, higher disposable income due to lower inflation will also boost private sector expenditure on construction and housing.