By IANS
Karachi : Pakistan’s largest cement producer, Lucky Cement, will dispatch its first export consignment to India next week to bridge the neighbour’s current shortfall.
The beginning is being made after clearing hurdles over the quality of the cement. The company has a certificate from The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which is authorised to determine the quality of cement both domestic and imported.
An official at the company told Daily Times that the first consignment would have between 5,000 tonnes and 10,000 tonnes of cement.
Lucky Cement received the BIS certification last week.
The company expects to sell between one and 1.5 million tonnes of cement to buyers in India within one year, the official said.
India is facing an acute shortage of cement due to surge in construction activities and huge spending on infrastructure development by the Indian government.
The landed cost of cement imported from Pakistan is around Rs.170 (Indian) per 50 kg bag as against Rs.240 charged by domestic producers.
Even if another Rs.30 is added as transportation cost, Pakistani cement will be available for Rs.200 in Indian cities.
The government has done away with the countervailing duty of 16 percent and additional duty of four percent on cement imports to meet demand for cement.
The cement industry in Pakistan has a surplus capacity of 10-12 million tonnes.
It has boosted its capacity from 22 million tonnes to 34 million tonnes during the last one-and-a-half years. Its capacity is estimated to rise to over 40 million tonnes in 2008.