Geopolitical tensions threaten cement sector’s cost of doing business: APCMA

LAHORE: The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) expressed its serious concern over the current geo-political tensions and said it will have serious affect on the cement sector. The APCA spokesman said the current volatility in oil prices and coal shall have serious affect due to cost escalations and disruptions in supply chains. However, he applauded the role of Pakistan as a peacemaker to ease out global tensions in the greater interest of all the stakeholders. The APCMA spokesman made these observations while releasing the month cement despatch data on Wednesday, according to which the sector showed slight increase during March 2026 as cement despatches during the month were recorded at 3.745 million tons against 3.712 million tons despatched in the same month of last fiscal year, showing an increase of 0.91 percent. According to the data, local cement despatches by the industry during the month of Mar-26 were 3.097 million tons compared to 3.103 million tons in Mar-25, showing a decline of 0.20 percent. Exports despatches however increased by 6.56 percent as the volumes jumped from 608,614 tons in Mar-25 to 648,564 tons in Mar-26. In Mar-26, North based cement mills despatched 2.639 million tons cement showing an increase of 3.07 percent against 2.561 million tons despatches in Mar-25. South based mills despatched 1.11 million tons cement during Mar-26 that was 3.89 percent less compared to the despatches of 1.151 million tons during Mar-25. North based cement mills despatched 2.639 million tons cement in domestic markets in Mar-26 showing an increase of 3.82 percent against 2.542 million tons despatches in Mar-25. South based mills despatched 457,583 tons cement in local markets during Mar-26 that was 18.40 percent less compared to the despatches of 560,797 tons during Mar-25. There were no exports from North based mills during Mar-26, exports from South increased by 9.91 percent to 648,564 tons in Mar-26 from 590,106 tons during the same month last year. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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