All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) on Friday requested the Ministry of Commerce to suspend the import of cement through land routes into Pakistan and also advised the Iranian government to seek quality approval from Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) before imports could be resumed at statutory duties.
In a letter to Federal Commerce Secretary Muhammad Shehzad Arbab and All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers’ Association (APCMA) Chairman Muhammad Ali Tabba said that despite bringing it to the notice of customs authorities, smuggling of Iranian cement into the country through land routes continued unabated. Moreover, Iranian cement is of uncertain quality, as it does not have any approval or standard marking by PSQCA, the letter said.
The letter said that gradually increasing quantities are now at an alarmingly high level, reaching about 2,000 tonnes per day. Coming through the Taftaan, Post 250, and Mand customs check-posts, the cement consignments are being allowed in without paying the statutory customs duty and other federal levies, in connivance with customs authorities, who charge these duties for only a token quantity while the bulk comes in without paying the statutory charges, the letter alleged.
As a result, the letter lamented, the local market in the areas adjacent to the Iranian border as well as the coastal area of Baluchistan is flooded with cheap Iranian cement. Consequently, domestically produced cement is fast losing market, as it is unable to compete with this Iranian cement which sells at prices 40 per cent lower than those of domestically produced cement.
The cement industry is already in a tough spot over rising costs of manufacturing, Iranian cement’s inroads into the Pakistani market is adding to the miseries of local manufacturers.
“The local cement industry supporting half a million households directly and indirectly must be given protection against the Iranian cement not only to save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of associated workforce but also to save precious foreign exchange,” the APCMA chairman said.
