ISLAMABAD: The exports of cement from the country witnessed an increase of 8.27 per cent during the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year (FY2020-21) as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year.
The country exported cement worth $72.296 million during July-September against the exports of $66.773 million during July-September (2019-20), showing a growth of 8.27pc, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
In terms of quantity, the exports of cement increased by 30.09pc by going up from 2,196,835 metric tonnes to 1,688,687 metric tonnes, according to the data.
Meanwhile, on YoY basis, exports grew by 23.9pc during the month of September 2020 as compared to the same month of last year.
On a MoM basis, exports also rose by 28.75pc during September 2020 as compared to the exports of $21.583 million in August 2020, the PBS data revealed.
It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandise trade deficit increased by 2.02pc during the first quarter of FY21 as compared to the deficit of the corresponding period of last year.
The deficit during July-September FY21 was recorded at $5.804 billion as compared to the deficit of $5.689 billion, showing an increase of 2.02pc.
During the period under review, the country’s exports registered a negative growth of 0.94pc, by going down from $5.510 billion last year to $5.458 billion during the current year.
On the other hand, imports decreased by 0.56pc, from $11.199 billion last year to $11.262 billion during the current year.