Cement Price Hits Rs1,604 a Bag as October Sales Slip in Pakistan

Cement Price Hits Rs1,604 a Bag as October Sales Slip in Pakistan

Builders across Pakistan are now paying about Rs200 more for a bag of cement than they did a year ago, and October sales look set to slip as a result. Pakistan's cement dispatches are expected to fall 1 percent year on year to 3.95 million tons in October, according to industry estimates, with local sales reaching 2.1 million tons in the first 18 days of the month and 3.05 million tons in the first 25 days.

A bag of cement cost Rs1,604 on average in October, against Rs1,404 a year earlier, according to weekly Sensitive Price Indicator data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Prices also rose 2 to 4 percent from September, with higher fuel and transport costs blamed for the increase. For a contractor buying 1,000 bags, the year-on-year difference adds Rs200,000 to a single order.

The slowdown matters well beyond cement mills: construction drives jobs for masons, drivers and suppliers, and higher building costs feed into house prices and rents. If the current pace holds, mills will need a strong final few days of October to hit the projected total, and builders will be watching closely to see whether prices cool once fuel costs ease.

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