Cement export decreases by 5.80pc during first 8 months of FY 2019-20

• The cement exports in February 2020 were recorded at $23.790 million against the exports of $21.518 million in February 2019, the PBS data revealed.
• During the period from July-March (2019-20), exports reached to $17.451 billion against the exports of $17.071 billion of the same period of last year, it added.

ISLAMABAD: The exports of cement from the country witnessed decline of 5.80 percent during the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year 2019-20 as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Pakistan exported cement worth US $193.926 million during July-February (2019-2020) against the exports of US $205.865 million during July-February (2018-2019), showing a decline of 5.80 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, the exports of cement grew by 6.45 percent from 4,839,685 metric tons to 5,151,856 metric tons, according to the data. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the cement exports also increased by 10.56 percent during the month of February 2020, as compared to the same month of last year.

The cement exports in February 2020 were recorded at $23.790 million against the exports of $21.518 million in February 2019, the PBS data revealed.

On month-on-month basis the export of cement decreased by 4.36 percent in February 2020 as compared to the exports of $24.875 million in January 2019.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country's merchandise trade deficit plunged by 26.45 percent during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same months of last year.

During the period under review, the country’s exports registered about 2.23 per cent growth, whereas imports reduces by 14.42 per cent, according the foreign trade statistics, released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

During the period from July-March (2019-20), exports reached to $17.451 billion against the exports of $17.071 billion of the same period of last year, it added.

Meanwhile, the country’s imports witnessed significant decrease of 14.42pc as these went down from $40.679 billion in first nine months of last financial year to $34.814 billion of same period of current financial year, it said.