Debasish Acharya, OP
Bhubaneswar: The cement industry in Odisha is growing at a rate of 7 per cent to 8 per cent this fiscal, an official from JK Lakshmi Cement told Orissa POST.
Despite the implementation of GST, RERA, the industry has maintained its growth trajectory, he said.
“The cement industry in the state is growing at an average rate of 7 per cent to 8 per cent and is expected to maintain the same for the next three months,” Susim Patra, vice president, (marketing), JK Lakshmi Cement, said.
JK Lakshmi has been growing at a rate of 15 per cent due to its increasing customer base as well as the introduction of new products, he pointed out.
Commenting on the industry’s growth last fiscal, Patra said it has witnessed a growth of 18 per cent to 20 per cent and JK Lakshmi had maintained its growth trajectory more than the industry.
The cement consumption in the state is at 8.5 lakh tonne by volume per month. It is expected to grow further especially considering the government’s focus on infrastructure, Swachh Bharat scheme and private investment.
The implementation of GST has minimal impact on the industry as the tax rate before GST is almost the same post-GST while the removal of Octroi collection will boost the industy.
He said the ban on petcoke usage will have an adverse impact adversely on those industries which fully depends upon the mineral.
“The cement prices might go up due to the rise in import duty of petcoke, but the increase would be minimal,” Patra added. (PNN)