DG Khan Cement exports second cement consignment to US

KARACHI: Pakistan sent the second cement consignment to the United States on Wednesday, as DG Khan Cement Company (DGKCC) shipped 37,500 tonnes low alkali to Houston on a vessel named Abu Al Abyad.

DGKCC received an order to export 600,000 tonnes of low alkali cement to the US, which would fetch approximately $360 million.

“Our second consignment of 37,500 tonnes loaded on vessel Abu Al Abyad has left for Houston, Texas, USA this morning,” said DGKCC Executive Director Farid Fazal while talking to media.

A consignment weighing 50,000 tonnes was dispatched last June. It made Pakistan one of the 25 countries exporting cement to the US.

The third consignment would leave for the US next month, and considering the good quality of Pakistani cement, the country can achieve a 10 to 15 percent share in the US market. Besides, Fazal added, the company is in talks with buyers from London, France, and Germany, and soon the company will be entering the European market. “We have lots of surplus cement as the supply is much greater than the demand. Manufacturers are not utilising their full capacity; hence we need to explore new markets,” Fazal said. He added that the country needed to expand its exports to big markets like the USA as the demand for construction materials in the USA has increased manifold with buyers looking for new sources of supply following President Biden’s $6 trillion infrastructure package.

Under this package, all mega infrastructure projects including freeways, bridges and roads would be rebuilt or given facelifts as some of these were constructed almost a century ago. “It took us 12 months to get the technical certifications for the supply of cement to the markets in the USA,” the DGKCC executive director said.

He added that the USA was a huge market and due to strict environmental laws, it was very difficult to put up a cement factory. Their requirements for cement were met by imports from Mexico, Canada, Vietnam and Turkey. Local cement industry capacity is 65 million tonnes, domestic consumption stands around 45 million tonnes, while exports are just 4 to 5 million tonnes.

Deputy General Manager Ziauddin informed the media that DGKCC was the first to use innovative technologies in the cement industry.

“DGKCC's latest state-of-the-art plant located at Hub is the first of its kind to have the largest production line with six stage preheater, tower, largest vertical grinding mill based on COPE drive system, multiple chamber cement storage silos to store different products at the same time,” said Ziauddin, adding that it was from this plant that they were exporting the second shipload of low alkali cement to the USA.

He added that their focus was on maintaining an eco-friendly environment by making a significant contribution to reducing carbon footprints by using renewable energy, waste heat recovery and alternate fuels. DGKCC is among the largest manufacturers in Pakistan with a production capacity of 25,000 tonnes of cement per day (7.500 million tonnes/annum) with three plants located at Dera Ghazi Khan, Kalar Kahar and Hub.