Petroleum import bill drops by 16.3% MoM to $1.2bn in February: SBP

March 20, 2024 (MLN): The import bill of the petroleum group decreased to $1.2 billion in February 2024, marking a decrease of 16.3% MoM compared to the import bill of $1.43bn recorded in January 2024., data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

Similarly, the imports of petroleum products dropped by 7.12% YoY compared to the import bill of $1.29bn recorded in February 2023.

The share of petroleum products in the total import bill stood at 28% in February 2024.

In 8MFY23, the import bill of petroleum products went significantly down by 20.89% YoY to $9.98bn against $12.62bn recorded in the same period last year.

It is pertinent to mention that the overall import bill has increased by 10.24% YoY to $4.28bn in February.

While on a monthly basis, imports dropped by 6.13% MoM compared to the imports worth $4.55bn recorded in January 2024.

Cumulatively in 8MFY24, total imports marked a drop of 8.77% YoY to $34.08bn compared to imports of $37.35bn in 8MFY23.

With regards to the transport sector, the import bill posted a rise of 78.48% YoY to $129.97m in February 2024, against $72.82m in February 2023.

This increase is attributed to a rise in imports of road motor vehicles that stood at $107.76m compared to $67.51m in February 2023, depicting a rise of 59.61% YoY.

Comparison on a sequential basis reflects growth of 12.96% MoM compared to transport imports of $115.06m in the previous month.

Cumulatively in 8MFY24, imports from the transport sector went up by 10.64% YoY to $1.02bn compared to imports of $924.18m in 8MFY23.

The second and third-highest imports were by the Food Group and Agri. & Other Chemical, worth $753.29m and $660.66m, respectively in the review month.

The import of agricultural and other chemicals increased by 11.69% YoY, while fell by 23.26% MoM to clock in at $660.66m.

Meanwhile, during 8MFY24, the imports for the same group showed a rise of 1.67% YoY to clock in at $6.04bn.

The country’s food imports went down by 2.74% YoY to $753.29m in February as compared to $774.55m in the same period last year.

Conversely, on a monthly basis, the food group’s import increased by 8.41% MoM compared to the import worth $694.86m in January.

Under the group, Palm Oil emerged as the dominant food import and stood at $221.26m, down by 35.85% YoY during the review period.

Likewise, the import of Pulses fell by 20.68% YoY to clock in at $49.07m in the review month.

On a sequential basis, imports of Palm Oil dropped by 5.31% while the imports of Pulses grew by 3.33% MoM, respectively.

The fourth major import group was the Machinery Group as the outflow of foreign currency stood at $645.47m, observing an increase of 2.21x YoY, while falling by 6.71%.

The import bill associated with the metal group clocked at $414.65m, rising by 2.27x YoY and 7.77% MoM in February.

Under the Textile Group, the country incurred an import expenditure worth $300.89m during the review period, down by 5.12% YoY and 1.66% MoM.

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