Medicinal products import increase 4.56pc in 1st half of FY 2020-21

ISLAMABAD: The import of medicinal products into the country witnessed an increase of 4.56 percent during the first half of the current financial year (2020-21) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Pakistan imported medicinal products worth $538.941 million during July-December 2020-21 as compared to the imports of $515.429 million during July-December 2019-20, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, however, medicinal imports witnessed a decrease of 3.37 percent, as the country imported 10,903 metric tonnes of medicinal products during the period under review as compared to the imports of 11,283 metric tonnes last year.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, medicinal imports into the country during December 2020 increased by 13.90 percent, from $87.683 million in December 2019 to $99.875 million.

Similarly, on a monthly basis, medicinal imports during December 2020 also rose by 27.10 percent when compared to the imports of $78.579 million in November 2020.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandise trade deficit increased by 5.93 percent during the first six months of current fiscal year (2020-21) as compared to the deficit of the corresponding period of last year.

The deficit during July-December (2020-21) was recorded at US $12.363 billion as compared to the deficit of $11.671 billion, showing increase 5.93 percent.

During the period under review, the country s exports registered growth of 5.09 percent, by going up from US $11.524 billion last year to $12.110 billion during the current year.

On the other hand, the imports also increased by 5.51 percent, from US $ 23.195 billion last year to US $24.473 billion during the current year.