Jul-Aug period: POL group imports post negative growth of 34.25pc to $2.171bn YoY

ISLAMABAD: Petroleum group imports witnessed a negative growth of 34.25 percent during the first two months (July-August) of the current fiscal year and stood at $2.171 billion when compared to $3.302 billion during the same period of last fiscal year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said.

The data of exports and imports released by PBS revealed that petroleum group imports declined by 26.06 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis and stood at $1.379 billion in August 2023 when compared to $1.8654 billion during August 2022. On month on month basis it registered 74.33 per cent growth when compared to $791.434 million in July 2023.

Petroleum products imports witnessed 41.44 per cent negative growth during July-August 2023-24 and remained at $971.373 million compared to $1.658 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.

On a MoM basis, it registered 72.41 per cent growth and stood at $614.781 million in August when compared to $356.590 million in July 2023. On a YoY basis, petroleum products registered 33.93 per cent negative growth when compared to $930.564 million in August 2022.

The overall imports during July 2023 were $3.705 billion (provisional) as compared to $4.219 billion in June 2023 showing a decrease of 12.18per cent and by 25.62per cent as compared to $4.981 billion in July 2022.

The imports during July-August, 2023-24 totalled $8.233 billion (provisional) as against $11.035 billion during the corresponding period of last year showing a decrease of 25.39 per cent. The imports in August 2023 were $4.528 billion (provisional) as compared to $3.705 billion in July 2023 showing an increase of 22.21 per cent but decreased by 25.21 per cent as compared to $6.054 billion in August 2022.

The main commodities of imports during August 2023 were petroleum products (Rs180,628 million), petroleum crude (Rs119,438 million), natural gas, liquefied (Rs.89,854 million), palm oil (Rs80,346 million), plastic materials (Rs66,789 million), electric machinery and apparatus (Rs48,536 million), iron and steel (Rs47,489 million), mobile phones (Rs32,712 million), iron and steel scrap (Rs28,618 million), and medicinal products (Rs24,592 million).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023