By Muhammad Asad Tahir Bhawana ISLAMABAD, March 24 (INP-WealthPK): The recently released data of the first eight months of the fiscal year 2022 (8M FY 2022) by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows a decline in the exports of the cement industry. The cement industry is among the largest industries in Pakistan. Around 25 big industries are producing cement in Pakistan, according to All Pakistan Cement Manufacturing Association (APCMA). Data shows that exports of cement fell in the first eight months FY 2022. It shows that the exports of the current fiscal year are 4.749 million metric tons in quantity and $179.448 million in value. Exports during the same period of FY 2020-2021 were 5.47 metric tons in quantity and $183.196 million in value. The change in cement exports shows a decline of 13.18 percent in quantity and 2.05 percent in value. The current data published by the PBS also shows that in February 2022, exports increased slightly by the amount of $18.522 million compared to January, when exports were $17.159 million. As per the data released by the APCMA, in the first month of the fiscal year 2021-2022, the market contracted by 19.3 percent to 3.88 metric tons. The local market declined from 3.95Mt in July 2021 to 3.45Mt in July 2021, with a decline of 12.87 percent. While the exports declined by a record of 49 percent with the exports of only 452,776 metric tons in July 2021 compared to 885,255 metric tons in the same period a year before. Pakistan's cement industry contributed a large share to the national exchequer. In 2020, it contributed 5.3 percent to Pakistan's economy. The cement industry is an important sector because it is directly linked with Pakistan's construction and infrastructure development sector. To bring the industry on track, the government of Pakistan announced some incentives in the federal budget 2021-2022. The incentives include the provision of NOCs (no objection certificates) to 17 cement companies to establish limestone-based industries and 13 licenses to the companies establishing salt-based plants. Moreover, incentives also include drafting the Punjab Mines and Minerals Regulation Act 2021, launching the cadastral portal for the public, and the proposed ADP (annual development program) scheme for digitizing the royalty regime. In a presentation, Mohsin Naqvi, Group Director Finance of Maple Leaf Group – the parent company of Maple Leaf Cement Co (MLCF), stated that as a result of higher sea freight charges, the company does not anticipate a robust increase in exports. Consequently, cumulative export data showed negative growth. According to experts, the decline in the cement industry is also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The current slight rise in the exports shows that as cases decline worldwide those industries which showed a negative trend are now coming on the track. Pakistan's cement industry is among those industries which are now on the rising trend as per February data. While in year-on-year data, it is still behind as compared to the previous year.