Cement sales plunge as construction comes to a halt.

KARACHI -- Cement despatches in April declined 24 per cent to 4.61 million tonnes as exports and domestic offtake fell amid the economic slowdown caused by coronavirus.

The decline in domestic consumption was witnessed both in the north and south zones of the country as it fell 19pc to 3.271m tonnes in April from 4.037m tonnes in the same month last year.

Domestic despatches from the mills in southern region fell 50pc from 0.683m tonnes in April 2019 to only 0.342m tonnes last month whereas the mills based in north despatched only 2.928m tonnes domestically in April, down by 13pc from 3.353m tonnes in same month last year.

Total exports fell from 574,026 tonnes in April 2019 to mere 249,127 tonnes last month, down by 56.6pc.

Mills based in southern zone exported just 1,609 tonnes in April

During the month, exports from the southern zone plunged by 28pc to 247,519 tonnes from 343,611 tonnes in April 2019. The situation was even...