Imports plummet by 45% YoY In 1HFY23 amid LCs restrictions: PBS

January 20, 2023 (MLN): In the first half of the fiscal year 2023 the imports decreased by 45% YoY to $3.24 billion as compared to $5.92bn in the corresponding period last year, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Thursday.

The decline in imports is attributed to the government restrictions on the issuance of Letters of Credit (LCs), dollar shortage, and political issues in the country.

Also, many major industries have shut down their production plants due to a shortage of imported raw materials during this period.

In the month of December 2022, the overall import dropped by 32.01% YoY, whereas on monthly basis it remained flat.

Group-wise, petroleum sector imports went down by 12.02% YoY to $1.59bn as compared to $1.80bn in December 2021, and $1.65bn in November 2022.

Commodity-wise, petroleum products, and natural gas, liquified depicted a decline of 27.84% YoY, and 24.05% YoY to stand at $649.86mn and $364.9mn, respectively.

Similarly, the import of transport posted a plunge of 64.63% YoY to $140.66mn in December 2022 against $397.71mn over last year, mainly led by a decline in imports of aircraft, ships, and boats that stood at $22.41mn declined by 69.75% YoY compared to $74.09mn in December 2021.

With regards to the machinery sector, imports were down by 11.08% MoM, and 57.79% YoY to stand at $475.89mn as compared to $1.13bn in December 2021.

The share of agricultural and other chemicals groups in the import bill is $804.81mn decreased by 55.88% YoY as compared to $1.82bn in the same period last year. The major decline in this group is witnessed in medicinal products which are 89.43% YoY.

Meanwhile, the country’s food imports rose by 6.41% YoY and 28.31% MoM to $833.59mn in December 2022 from $783.38mn in December 2021 and $649.66mn in November 2022.

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