November 20, 2019 (MLN): According to the latest data issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on export receipts by commodities, the food group contributed 18% of the total exports during the Jul-Oct 2019. The exports of food products grew by 16.21%YoY to $1.36 billion when compared to the same period of last year.
Whereas, imports of the food group into the country during the period under review plunged by 20.34% YoY $1.5 billion, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. The food group accounted for 10% of the total imports during Jul-Oct 2019.
On the exports front, Rice and Fish & Fish Preparations were the major sources of Foreign exchange earnings as their exports were recorded at $633 million and $129 million, depicting a growth of 43.76% and 18.11% YoY respectively during the Jul-Oct 2019.
During October 2019, the exports of food products reached $375 million, signifying the growth of 22.5% YoY as against $306 million in October 2018. The food exports increased by 12.75% MoM in October 2019 when compared to the $333 million of September 2019.
On the imports front, the data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics revealed that imports of milk and dairy products decreased by 33.41% YoY, amounted to 16,650 metric tons, valued at $1.58 billion during the aforementioned period.
During Jul-Oct 2019, Pakistan imported 929,331 metric tons of palm oil, worth a total of $506 million. This marks a decline of 18.64% compared with the same period of last year.
A sharp decline was seen in tea imports. It dropped by 28% YoY to stand at $142 million during Jul-Oct 2019 when compared to the same period of 2018.
In October 2019, the imports of food group valued at $486 million, lower by 8% YoY as against of $528 million in October 2018. However, the food outflows increased by 21.64% MoM in October 2019 versus $399 million of September 2019.