Friday, May 6, 2011

INDIA: Cement demand increases locally

KARACHI: Local cement demand continued its recovery during April 2011, rising by three percent on yearly basis, said an analyst. 

Cement exports witnessed a lower than anticipated decline of one percent in April over the same month of last year, said Atif Zafar, an analyst at JS Research. 

“We slightly trim our fiscal year 2011 assumption for local sales to 22.2 million tons, while retaining our 9.7 million tons target for exports.” 

Local demand rose despite cut in the size of Public Sector Development Programme and crowding out of private credit offtake. “We believe higher farm income on the back of rising commodity prices is a key catalyst behind the recovery in domestic demand,” said Zafar. 

However, growth during April remained skewed towards the south of the country, rising by 35 percent year-on-year there compared with a drop of three percent in the northern region.

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