Food import bill mounts by 22% YoY in July’21

August 27, 2021 (MLN): The trade value of food exports from the country in July’21 stood at around $243million, showing an increase of 7.38% YoY from $314.52 million in July 2020.

However, on MoM basis, the export volume of this group plunged by 21.844% compared to the same period last year.  

The overall contribution of this group remained 14.43% of the total exports during July’21 which stood at $337.761mn, as per the latest data revealed by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Commodity-wise, Rice remained to be the major source of foreign exchange earnings in July’21 as its exports valued at $139.7mn, fall by 24.7% MoM. Likewise, on a YoY basis, the export value of the same commodity witnessed a dip of 6.1%.

The export of fish & fish preparations stood at $14.11mn, showing a decline of 55% MoM and 48% YoY.

Meanwhile, the export volume of meat and meat preparations inched down by 4.74% MoM while, on a YoY basis, the export of similar products shrank by 13% to stand at Rs24.67mn.

On the other hand, the export volume of vegetables expanded by 39% YoY whereas, on MoM basis, the same commodity witnessed a slash of 28% to stand at 17.22mn. Likewise, total fruits’ exports declined by 36% MoM, while exports of fruits increased by 15.46% YoY compared to the same period last year.

On the import side, the total import bill of the food group amounted to $647mn, marking an increase of 22.24% on a YoY basis against the same period of last year due to increased demand after the restoration of economic activities.

Collectively, the group accounted for almost 11.55% of the total imports during July’21 as per the data released by PBS.

The data further revealed that imports of Palm Oil valued at $254mn, showcasing a decline of 6.37% MoM. On the other hand, the import bill of the same commodity has inflated by23.35% on a YoY basis.  

Moreover, the import bill of milk, cream and milk food for infants positioned at $10.56mn, during the said period, plunged by 33.27% MoM and 31.62% YoY.

Likewise, the import of tea also dipped by 5.53% MoM whereas, on yearly basis, the import bill of tea surged by 7.72% to stand at $41.12mn.

It is pertinent to mention that during the month, import of wheat remained zero in the presence of a sufficient amount of locally available wheat.  

Copyright Mettis Link News