Covid second wave to result in 25% reduced cement offtake in Q1FY22: ICRA

The second wave of Covid-19 has adversely impacted domestic cement production - the all India production declined 35 percent month-on-month in April 2021 and was lower by 4 percent compared to April 2019, said ICRA in its report.

With most states imposing lockdowns due to the spread of Covid-19 infections to rural regions, (unlike last year wherein mostly urban areas were impacted), the cement off-take in May 2021 is likely to further decline by 35-40 percent on  month-on-month basis.

As per ICRA note, the recovery in the rural regions is expected to be gradual. However, the overall pent-up demand is