Petroleum import bill rises 1.5% to $1.3bn in Sep

October 21, 2024 (MLN): The import bill of the petroleum group increased 1.5% to $1.3 billion in September 2024, compared to the import bill of $1.28bn recorded in September 2023, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

Conversely, the imports of petroleum products went down by 7.5% compared to the bill of $1.41bn in August 2024.

The share of petroleum products in the total import bill stood at 27.8% during the month.

In 3MFY25, the import bill of petroleum products went up by 13.7% to $3.94bn against $3.46bn recorded in the same period last year.

It is pertinent to mention that the overall import bill has risen by 19.4% YoY to $4.69bn in September.

While on a monthly basis, total imports have declined by 0.4% compared to the imports worth $4.71bn recorded in August 2024.

Cumulatively in 3MFY25, total imports jumped 15.7% to $14.22bn compared to imports of $12.29bn in 3MFY24.

The second and third-highest imports were by the Agri. & Other Chemical and Machinery Group, worth $866.94m and $636.74m, respectively in the review month.

The import of agricultural and other chemicals increased by 21.7% YoY and 10.9% MoM to clock in at $866.94m.

Meanwhile, during 3MFY25, the imports for the same group showed a rise of 9.9% to clock in at $2.45bn.

The country’s food imports went up by 12.1% to $515.62m in September as compared to $459.88m in the same period last year.

Similarly, on a monthly basis, the food group’s import increased by 1.3% compared to the import worth $508.77m in August.

Under the group, Palm Oil emerged as the dominant food import and stood at $239.59m, up by 33.1% during the review period.

Likewise, the import of Pulses rose by 14.4% YoY to clock in at $62.98m in the review month.

On a sequential basis, imports of Palm Oil dropped by 4.6% while the imports of Pulses grew by 5.9%, respectively.

The import bill associated with the metal group clocked at $439.86m, rising by 35.4% YoY and 12.2% MoM in September.

Under the Textile Group, the country incurred an import expenditure worth $382.75m during the review period, up by 62.2% YoY, while down 4.3% MoM.

With regards to the transport sector, the import bill posted a rise of 12.1% to $140.97m in September 2024, against $125.75m in September 2023.

This increase is attributed to a growth in imports of road motor vehicles that stood at $136.65m compared to $104.46m in September 2023, depicting a rise of 30.8%.

Comparison on a sequential basis reflects a decline of 4.1% compared to transport imports of $146.95m in the previous month.

Cumulatively in 3MFY25, imports from the transport sector went up by 4.2% to $435.7m compared to imports of $417.99m in 3MFY24.

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