Gold imports fall 52.55pc in 8 months

ISLAMABAD: The gold imports decreased by 52.55 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The gold imports into the country during July-February (2020-21) were recorded at $5.310 million as compared to the imports of $11.190 million during July-February (2019-20), the data revealed.

In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported just 87 kilograms of gold during the period under review as compared to the imports of 267 kilograms last year, showing a decline of 67.42 percent.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the gold imports into the country witnessed decline of 48.53 percent during the month of February 2021 as compared to the imports of February 2020.

The gold imports during February 2021 were recorded at $0.578 million against the imports of $1.123 million in February 2020.

In terms of quantity, the gold imports decreased by 58.33 percent from 24 kilograms during February 2020 to imports of just 10 kilograms in February 2021.

On month-on-month basis, the gold imports during February 2021 increased by 65.14 percent as compared to the imports of $0.350 million in January 2021 while in terms of quantity, the imports increased by 100 percent in February 2021 when compared to the imports of 5 kilogram in January 2021.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandize exports from the country increased by 4.29 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (2020-21) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The exports of the country during July-February (2020-21) were recorded at $16.304 billion against the exports of $15.633 billion during July-February (2019-20), according to the latest PBS data.

The imports during the period under review also increased by 7.49 percent by growing from $31.483 billion last year to $33.840 billion during the first eight months of current fiscal year.

Based on the figures, the country’s trade deficit increased by 10.64 percent during the first eight months as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The trade deficit during the period was recorded at $17.536 billion against the deficit of $15.850 billion last year.