KARACHI: The first six months of FY25 proved disappointing for cement makers as local sales dipped 10.4 per cent to 18.122 million tonnes from 20.228m tonnes in the same period last year. However, a 32pc surge in exports to 4.810m tonnes from 3.655m tonnes salvaged the overall sales during the period, according to the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) data. Total cement despatches (domestic and exports) were down 3.9pc to 22.933m tonnes compared to 23.881mn tonnes in the corresponding period of FY24. Local cement despatches shrank 5pc to 3.370m tonnes in December from 3.539m tonnes in the same month last year. Exports, however, increased by 49.35pc to 783,550 tonnes from 524,656 tonnes. Total cement despatches (local and export) during December crawled up by 2.23pc to 4.154m tonnes from 4.063m tonnes during the same month 2023. The APCMA spokesperson, while expressing grave concerns over the conti-nuous decline in local cement demand, urged the government to bring down duties and taxes to boost cement sales and enable the sector to use its idle capacity.