Petroleum import bill jumps by 87% YoY in July 2021

August 23, 2021 (MLN): The major contribution in July 2021 import bill came from oil and petroleum products that surged by 87% YoY to stand at $1.04 billion as opposed to $555million recorded in July 2020.

However, the same group witnessed a decline of 15% on a sequential basis when compared to the import value of $1.22bn reported in June 2021.  

According to the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan on import payment by commodities, the major contribution in import bill during the month was recorded from Petroleum, Agriculture & Other Chemicals, Machinery and Food as they accounted for 19%, 15%, 14% and 11% of the total import respectively.

Petroleum crude and petroleum products under the Petroleum group remained the main products during the month that contributed to the expansion of Petroleum bill on yearly basis by 65% and 2.67x, respectively. However, on monthly basis, the import bill of both products shrank by 3% and 18%, respectively.

The import bill of the Agriculture and Chemical group was recorded at $788mn during July 2021, up by 32% YoY while declined by 13% MoM.  This group comprises Manufactured Fertilizers, Insecticides, Plastic materials, Medicinal Products, and other Agricultural and Chemical products.

The major chunk of imports under the Agriculture and Chemical Products was mainly in the Plastic Materials which valued at $225mn, depicting an increase of 47% YoY from $153mn in July 2021.

Meanwhile, the import bill of Machinery inched up by 4% YoY to $765mn. While a notable reduction of 21% MoM was witnessed during the month under review against the imports of $711mn in the previous month and $966mn in June’21.

Under the Machinery group, the major portion of import was associated with Telecom machines which consist of Mobile Phones and other Apparatus. The import of telecom plunged by 22% YoY and 26% MoM to $181mn in July 2021. Within Telecom, the imports of Mobile Phones went down significantly by 25% YoY to $142mn. Likewise, the import of mobile phones depicted a decline of 23% on monthly basis.

The food group is also a major contributor to import bills on a yearly basis as it surged by 20% YoY to $587mn during the month. The main food items that Pakistan imported include palm oil, tea and pulses. The import of palm oil stood at $241mn during July 2021 due to higher prices, depicting a surge by 41%YoY while on an MoM basis, the import of the same product edged lower by 4%.

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