ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani cement no longer finds the market access to Afghanistan as high as it used to back in 2007 when Pakistan was the only exporter of cement to Afghanistan.
This is because the total exports of Afghan market has dropped to 24 percent in FY-19 from over 54 percent in FY-2007, reason being that Afghanistan has opened doors to other countries including Iran which has a huge overcapacity of cement production.
The cement manufacturers have urged the govt to take measures for cutting production cost as well as imposing anti-dumping duty on the Iranian cement which has not only affected the local consumption of cement but also snatched the Afghan market from Pakistan mainly due to its lower cost.
According to industry experts, the cement industry in Punjab and KPK has been affected the most from this huge decline of cement exports by reporting a 16 percent decline in the first 8 months of the fiscal year 2018-19.
Pakistan cement exports to Afghanistan were 54 percent in 2013. This share started increasing as other African and Asian markets also opened up until the Iranian market opened up. (INP)
