ISLAMABAD-Pakistan’s food import bill reduced by 18.13 percent in the month of July this year over the corresponding period of the previous year.
The country imported food commodities worth $624.8 million in July 2023 as against $763.1 million in the same period of the previous year, showing decline of 18.13 percent, according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In the food group, the PBS data showed that the government has spent $278.9 million on import of palm oil in the previous year, which is 6.82 percent less than the import of $299.4 million in the same period of the previous year.
The government has imported pulses worth $86.4 million in July 2023 as compared to $53.05 million in the same period of last year, showing an increase of 62.78 percent. Meanwhile, the government has imported sugar worth $539 million in the period under review showing an increase of 20.09 percent. However, the soybean imports have declined. The country has spent $56 million on importing tea, which is 23.58 percent higher than the import of previous year. According to the PBS data, petroleum group imports recorded a negative growth of 44.89 percent during the month of July and stood at $791.434 million as against $1.436 billion in July 2022.
The breakup showed that petroleum products showed 51.02 percent negative growth and remained at $356.59 million in July 23 as compared to $728.1 billion during same period of the last fiscal year. Petroleum crude imports witnessed a negative growth of 88.47 percent and remained $49.7 million in July this year when compared to $88.29 million during the same period of last year.
The data showed that machinery group imports recorded 21.36 percent negative growth during the first month of the current fiscal year and remained at $493.5 million as compared to $627.5 million during the same period of last fiscal year. Power generation machinery registered 29.73 percent negative growth during the first month of the current fiscal year and remained at $28.3 million compared to $40.2 million during the same period of the last fiscal year.
Transport group imports witnessed 32.18 percent negative growth during the month of July this year and remained at $140.2 billion as compared to $206.7 billion during the same period of last fiscal year. The country’s trade imbalance, gap between exports and imports, was recorded at $1.607 billion in July 2014 as compared to $2.731 billion in the same period of the last year, according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Exports and imports both have reduced in the period under review. However, imports have fallen more than exports, which have reduced the trade deficit. The federal government and State Bank of Pakistan had imposed conditions on the imports to improve the balance of payment situation. The reduction in the trade deficit would help in controlling the current account deficit, which has recently recorded a surplus. Later, the government withdrew the ban in last week of June.