New Delhi, The cement industry has recorded a 9 percent growth in volumes in May this year to 39.6 million metric tonnes (MT), while average cement prices have also increased by 8 percent, a report said.
The cement industry, which is facing low sales realisation, has recorded an 8 percent increase in the price of a 50 kg bag to Rs 360 per bag in May 2025, according to the latest report by rating agency ICRA.
Further, operating margins have also improved due to stable input costs as energy prices of coal and petcoke are low and diesel prices are stable, the report said.
In the first two months (April and May) of FY26, prices rose 7 percent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 360 per bag (50 kg). In FY25, cement prices declined 7 percent year-on-year to Rs 340 per bag. Further, in the months of April and May this fiscal, volumes grew 8 per cent to 78.7 million metric tonnes. “In FY25, volumes grew 6.3 percent to 453.0 million metric tonnes,” it said.
Based on this, ICRA expects cement volumes to grow 6-7 percent to 480-485 million metric tonnes in FY26 on the back of sustained demand from the housing and infrastructure sectors. “On the back of an expected increase in cement prices and stable input costs, operating margins of companies in ICRA’s sample set are expected to improve by 80-150 bps to 16.3-17.0 percent in FY26,” it said.
Prices of inputs such as coal and petcoke declined and diesel remained stable in June despite geopolitical tensions.
“Coal prices declined 19 percent yoy to $100 per metric tonne in June 2025 and petcoke prices declined 2 per cent yoy to Rs 10,880 per metric tonne. Diesel remained stable at Rs 88 per litre yoy.” “Coal prices were 6 per cent lower yoy, petcoke prices were 1 per cent higher and diesel prices remained stable yoy in the first quarter of FY26.”
According to the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), the apex body of large cement plants in India, India’s installed cement capacity was 690 MT.
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