CEMENT EXPORTS TO INDIA

_: Pakistan is expected to export 100,000 tons of cement to India during the remaining last three-month of the current fiscal year 2010-11, as India opens its gates giving a green signal to Pakistani cement exporters.

Bureau of Indian Standards CBlS), an Indian quality control institution, has accorded approval to Pakistan to resume cement exports to india by renewing licenses of Pakistani cement exporters last month. Licenses of around 90 percent cement manufacturers had expired earlier in the year, dropping cement exports by 14 per cent in the current fiscal year. The country exported 382,000 tons of cement or 5.68 per cent to India in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, while the country's overall cement exports stood at 6.72 million tons during the period. The demand for cement is expected to boost, as Indian government plans to allocate $1 trillion for housing construction during the next five years.

The BlS has revived certificates of local cement exporters, allowing them to export to India. The country's major producers including Lucky Cement, DG Khan Cement, Lafarge Pakistan Cement and Maple Leaf Cement have started exports to India this month. The experts estimate that the new opportunity of export is set to enhance cement dispatches to india in the range of 500,000 tons to 800,000 tons in next two years.

The experts believe that Pakistan cement industry will earn more profit on exports to India where cement prices hover around Rs570 per bag C300 Indian rupees) than the exports to Afghanistan with...