Which Pakistani product should a grinding unit buy: clinker or cement?

Clinker, if you have a mill. Pakistani clinker went FOB at about USD 34 per tonne on average in 2025 against USD 45 for grey cement, and the buyer's own gypsum, slag or limestone addition is where the margin sits. Buy cement in bags where there is no mill, no silo or a road-only market: Madagascar, Sierra Leone, the Comoros and Seychelles buy it that way. Send us your target 28-day strength and the analysis of the clinker you grind today and we match a mill to it.

What parcel sizes load at Karachi and Port Qasim?

Bulk clinker in Handysize and Supramax parcels of 25,000 to 55,000 t: the PIBT berth at Port Qasim is dredged to 13 m and takes vessels to 65,000 t, and the discharge port usually sets the size, not the load port. Bagged cement in 25,000 to 30,000 t Handysize lots on pallets or in sling bags, and in containers for island buyers taking 500 to 2,000 t a month. Loading rate, hatch tightness and a clean-hold survey go into the fixture because clinker takes up water.

Which standards does Pakistani cement carry?

PS 232 is the mandatory Pakistani standard for Ordinary Portland Cement and every exporting plant is certified against it; the large exporters also certify to EN 197-1 CEM I 42.5 and 52.5, and ASTM C150 Type I and Type V on request for markets that specify it. Sulphate-resisting cement (C3A 5% max) is a standard product from the southern plants. The inspector's certificate at load carries the chemical analysis, fineness, setting time and strength class.

How is a Pakistani exporter paid, and how is CBIL paid?

By irrevocable letter of credit at sight from the buyer's bank, which is the norm for both clinker and cement out of Karachi; the exporter's proceeds are subject to the State Bank's realisation rules. CBIL's brokerage is agreed in writing with the mill before the buyer is named and settled on the FOB value realised, which Pakistani exchange rules allow up to 5% on cement without further approval.

Can CBIL also fix the ship?

Yes. Our chartering desk, LaycanDesk, prices Handysize and Supramax tonnage from Karachi and Port Qasim to Colombo, Chattogram, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Tema, Abidjan, Douala and Toamasina, so a FOB and a CFR figure can be shown side by side.

Indian Ocean · Pakistan

Pakistan Clinker and Cement Exporters FOB Karachi and Port Qasim

South Asia's largest clinker exporter, loading Karachi and Port Qasim for Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, East Africa and the Gulf of Guinea

Pakistan declared 5,573,180 t of HS 2523.10 clinker exports in 2025 at an average USD 34 per tonne FOB: Sri Lanka 901,270 t, Cameroon 882,507 t, Ghana 872,420 t, Kenya 793,686 t, Côte d'Ivoire 610,890 t, Bangladesh 346,134 t, Gabon 326,721 t, Mozambique 149,880 t and Togo 140,500 t. Grey Portland cement (HS 2523.29) added 3,267,187 t at USD 45 per tonne, of which the seaborne buyers were Madagascar 753,317 t, the United States 324,734 t, Sierra Leone 244,722 t, Sri Lanka 129,183 t, Comoros 119,028 t, Tanzania 93,620 t and Seychelles 54,823 t. The industry's own figures for the July 2025 to June 2026 year put export despatches at 9.01 million tonnes against 41.51 million tonnes sold at home, from a sector whose southern plants at Karachi, Hub and Nooriabad and northern plants in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa together despatched 50.52 million tonnes. Clinker moves in bulk: Port Qasim's coal, clinker and cement terminal (PIBT) is dredged to 13 m, takes vessels to 65,000 t and is rated at 4 million tonnes a year of clinker and cement alongside its coal business, and Karachi Port has a producer-owned loose-cement export terminal with 24,000 t of silo storage; the port authority has announced two further multi-purpose berths and a 30,000 t storage facility at Port Qasim for cement and clinker. Bagged cement ships in 50 kg bags on pallets or in 1.5 to 2 t sling bags on Handysize tonnage, and in containers for the islands.

CBIL brokers Pakistani clinker (C3S 55-65%, LSF 0.92-0.98, free lime 1.5% max, per the buyer's mill analysis), Ordinary Portland Cement to PS 232 and EN 197-1 CEM I 42.5 and 52.5, and sulphate-resisting cement, in Handysize and Supramax parcels of 25,000 to 55,000 t FOB Karachi or Port Qasim, or CFR the discharge port with the ship fixed by our chartering desk. Every cargo ships against an independent inspector's certificate at load (chemical analysis, free lime, fineness and setting time for cement, draft survey quantity) and a certificate of origin naming the producing plant. A grinding unit or importer that states its port, its berth draft, the parcel size, the laycan window and the LC-opening bank gets a firm offer from a named mill; a requirement without them gets a question first.

Need the ship as well? Our chartering desk prices Supramax and Handysize bulk freight on LaycanDesk.

The market in figures

Clinker exports, 2025: 5,573,180 t, USD 189.1 million, USD 34/t FOB
Largest clinker buyers, 2025: Sri Lanka 16% · Cameroon 16% · Ghana 16% · Kenya 14% · Côte d'Ivoire 11% · Bangladesh 6% · Gabon 6%
Grey cement exports, 2025 (seaborne): Madagascar 753,317 t · USA 324,734 t · Sierra Leone 244,722 t · Sri Lanka 129,183 t · Comoros 119,028 t · Tanzania 93,620 t
Industry despatches, July 2025-June 2026: Exports 9.01 million t · domestic 41.51 million t · total 50.52 million t
Loading points: Port Qasim PIBT (13 m, vessels to 65,000 t, 4 Mt/yr clinker and cement) · Karachi Port loose-cement terminal (24,000 t silos) · bagged cement on Handysize and in containers
Standards: PS 232 (mandatory PSQCA certification) · EN 197-1 CEM I 42.5 / 52.5 · ASTM C150 on request

Official trade data; sources listed below. Landed values are the importing country's declared CIF, not CBIL prices.

Questions buyers ask

Which Pakistani product should a grinding unit buy: clinker or cement?: Clinker, if you have a mill. Pakistani clinker went FOB at about USD 34 per tonne on average in 2025 against USD 45 for grey cement, and the buyer's own gypsum, slag or limestone addition is where the margin sits. Buy cement in bags where there is no mill, no silo or a road-only market: Madagascar, Sierra Leone, the Comoros and Seychelles buy it that way. Send us your target 28-day strength and the analysis of the clinker you grind today and we match a mill to it.
What parcel sizes load at Karachi and Port Qasim?: Bulk clinker in Handysize and Supramax parcels of 25,000 to 55,000 t: the PIBT berth at Port Qasim is dredged to 13 m and takes vessels to 65,000 t, and the discharge port usually sets the size, not the load port. Bagged cement in 25,000 to 30,000 t Handysize lots on pallets or in sling bags, and in containers for island buyers taking 500 to 2,000 t a month. Loading rate, hatch tightness and a clean-hold survey go into the fixture because clinker takes up water.
Which standards does Pakistani cement carry?: PS 232 is the mandatory Pakistani standard for Ordinary Portland Cement and every exporting plant is certified against it; the large exporters also certify to EN 197-1 CEM I 42.5 and 52.5, and ASTM C150 Type I and Type V on request for markets that specify it. Sulphate-resisting cement (C3A 5% max) is a standard product from the southern plants. The inspector's certificate at load carries the chemical analysis, fineness, setting time and strength class.
How is a Pakistani exporter paid, and how is CBIL paid?: By irrevocable letter of credit at sight from the buyer's bank, which is the norm for both clinker and cement out of Karachi; the exporter's proceeds are subject to the State Bank's realisation rules. CBIL's brokerage is agreed in writing with the mill before the buyer is named and settled on the FOB value realised, which Pakistani exchange rules allow up to 5% on cement without further approval.
Can CBIL also fix the ship?: Yes. Our chartering desk, LaycanDesk, prices Handysize and Supramax tonnage from Karachi and Port Qasim to Colombo, Chattogram, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Tema, Abidjan, Douala and Toamasina, so a FOB and a CFR figure can be shown side by side.

Sources

UN Comtrade, reporter 586 (Pakistan), HS 2523.10, exports, 2025: world 5,573,180 t, USD 189.1 million; Sri Lanka 901,270 t at USD 39; Cameroon 882,507 t at USD 34; Ghana 872,420 t at USD 32; Kenya 793,686 t at USD 33; Côte d'Ivoire 610,890 t at USD 33; Bangladesh 346,134 t at USD 31; Gabon 326,721 t at USD 32; Mozambique 149,880 t at USD 36; Togo 140,500 t at USD 32 (public preview API, read 30 Sep 2026).
UN Comtrade, reporter 586, HS 2523.29, exports, 2025: world 3,267,187 t, USD 145.6 million; Madagascar 753,317 t at USD 43; USA 324,734 t at USD 51; Sierra Leone 244,722 t at USD 43; Sri Lanka 129,183 t at USD 51; Comoros 119,028 t at USD 43; Tanzania 93,620 t at USD 42; Seychelles 54,823 t at USD 51 (read 30 Sep 2026). Overland exports to a neighbouring market are omitted from the page.
UN Comtrade, reporter 586, HS 2523.10, exports, 2024: 4,843,700 t, USD 148.7 million, USD 31/t (desk pull, 28 Sep 2026).
All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association data as reported by The Nation, 4 Jul 2026, and ProPakistani, 3 Jul 2026: FY2025-26 domestic sales 41.51 million t (+9.5%), exports 9.01 million t (-2.19%), total 50.52 million t (+7.21%). Global Cement, 'Pakistani cement despatches rise in July 2026': July 2026 exports 705,341 t.
Daily Times, 'Abbasi to inaugurate Pakistan's first coal, clinker and cement terminal at Port Qasim' (Apr 2017): dredged 13.0 m, ships to 65,000 t, 8 million t/yr handling, 0.9 million t storage. Pakistan International Bulk Terminal, pibt.com.pk: cement and clinker 4 million t/yr.
Arab News, 'Pakistan plans Port Qasim expansion to support rising cement, clinker exports' (Sep 2025), and Business Recorder, 'New berths, storage facilities announced for Port Qasim': two additional multi-purpose berths, a 30,000 t storage facility, and the Sahiwal berth offered for clinker exports; cement and clinker export earnings USD 329.79 million in FY25.
Lucky Cement annual report and company site: the only Pakistani producer with its own loose-cement loading and storage terminal at Karachi Port, 24,000 t capacity; products certified to PS 232 and EN 197. Named as a published fact about the port, not as a CBIL counterparty.
Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority: PS 232 Ordinary Portland Cement is a mandatory product-certification standard.
State Bank of Pakistan Foreign Exchange Manual, chapter 12: commission to a foreign agent on cement exports may be paid by the exporter's bank up to 5% of FOB value realised, under a written agreement (desk reading, 28 Sep 2026).