Pakistani cement makers, with 8.94 million tonnes of spare capacity, have been rattled by unvetted Iranian cement, which has eaten into the domestic cement market, while the government's tax collection has also been affected.
A spokesman for the Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association called on government officials to stop and take effective measures to stop illegal imports of Iranian cement and protect the domestic cement industry. These measures should include the inclusion of cement in the negative list of imports, so that the country's excess capacity can be maximized. He pointed out that this would help the country's economic growth while curbing unhealthy tendencies to varying degrees.
Referring to the delivery data of the cement industry, he said that the domestic inflow of cement continued to show a positive trend, thus reducing the annual domestic production by about 3.89%. Imports of cement increased by 7.97% in the first 10 months of fiscal year 2014-2015, while exports fell by 9.09% in the same period.
"Between April 2014 and April 2015, the cement industry delivered 29.07 million tons of cement, compared with 27.98 million tons in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, as domestic demand ensured the operation of grinding plants," the spokesman said.
In April 2015, the cement delivered to China increased to 2.65 million tons (2.54 million tons in the same period last year), an increase of 4.57% over the same period last year, and the import volume in that month was 640,000 tons (672,000 tons in the same period last year), a decrease of 4.72% over the same period last year. The total delivery volume in April 2015 was 3.29 million tons (3.21 million tons in the same period last year), an increase of 2.62% over the previous year.
& emsp; & emsp; "We have a little over 76% of capacity in operation, which means 8.94 million tonnes of spare capacity," the spokesperson said. The stimulus from the government is likely to boost domestic demand and exports. The illegal import of Iranian goods and tax evasion at the import stage through false declarations have become major concerns for stakeholders.
He further said, "Unfortunately, the customs' declaration of goods' underestimated the amount of cement," which caused a great loss to the state's finances. All these are caused by the collusion of dealers, customs officials and transportation personnel.
& emsp; & emsp; "Currently, the country's excess cement production capacity is more than 8.94 million tons, and it is also facing the pressure of importing illegal Iranian cement," the spokesman said, adding that this has not only damaged the domestic cement market, but also caused significant losses to the country's finances through false claims.
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