Fifteen firms have sought approval from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to export cement to India, which is facing acute shortage of around 10 million tons.
"The applications are at different stages of processing in the BIS. The cement to be imported from Pakistan cannot be quantified at this stage, and will be open to market forces," Indian Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said.
The BIS Certification Marks Licence is mandatory for any cement to be imported in India, The Economic Times from India reported. Pakistan's cement manufacturers have evinced interest to export cement to India. India has agreed to expedite the process of importing cement and put on fast track completion of certification formalities.
In 2006-07, production of cement by large plants in India stood at 155.66 million tons, registering a growth of 9.77 percent over the previous year. Capacity utilisation in the cement industry was 94 percent during 2006-07, while it was 98 percent during the first quarter of this year.
As per Indian Cement Manufacturers' Association, the average price of cement has increased from Rs 158 per bag in December 2005 to Rs 229 per bag in July 2007. Pakistan has an annual production capacity of 37-38 million tons, while it consumes only 22-25 million tons. Early this month, Commerce Secretary Asif Shah said in New Delhi the first tranche of cement from Pakistan would arrive in India by the end of August.