"Last year, the growth in demand had shot up during the last quarter which led to an over 8 per cent growth for the full fiscal. We expect a higher pick-up in demand during the last two months, which may improve the figures for the current fiscal," the analyst said.The growth in demand, although higher marginally, is short of the industry expectations. Cement companies, faced with relatively low demand, have been deliberately scaling down production in recent months.Thewestern Indian markets have, however, started to look up with demand higher by 12-13 per cent, resulting in better realisations for cement companies. Prices are currently ruling at Rs 120-125 per bag in Gujarat, which is almost Rs 30 per bag higher than the October-November prices. Cement prices in the state during the last quarter had dipped to a 10-year low of around Rs 85-90 per bag. Even in Mumbai, prices have stabilised at around Rs 155-160 per bag following a spurt in demand Industry watchers are hopeful that the situation will improve considerably once the government's grand plans on housing and infrastructure reaches a take-off stage. The industry is optimistic that fresh sops will be made available to the housing sector in this year's budget, which will have a positive bearing on the cement industry.