Petroleum import bill surges 40% to $1.2bn in July

August 19, 2024 (MLN): The import bill of the petroleum group grew to $1.22 billion in July 2024, marking an increase of 39.97% YoY compared to the import bill of $874.76m recorded in July 2023, data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

Conversely, the imports of petroleum products went down by 16.08% MoM compared to the bill of $1.46bn in June 2024.

The share of petroleum products in the total import bill stood at 25.41% in July 2024.

It is pertinent to mention that the overall import bill has risen by 16.34% YoY to $4.82bn in July.

Likewise, on a monthly basis, imports rose by 4.08% MoM compared to the imports worth $4.63bn recorded in June 2024.

With regards to the transport sector, the import bill posted a drop of 4.81% YoY to $147.78m in July 2024, against $155.25m in July 2023.

The second and third-highest imports were by the Machinery Group and Agri. & Other Chemical, worth $897.51m and $801.54m, respectively in the review month.

The import of agricultural and other chemicals decreased by 1.17% YoY while increasing by 20.11% to clock in at $801.54m.

The country’s food imports went down by 15.22% YoY to $535.52m in July as compared to $631.67m in the same period last year.

Conversely, on a monthly basis, the food group’s import increased by 26.87% MoM compared to the import worth $422.1m in June.

Under the group, Palm Oil emerged as the dominant food import and stood at $264.49m, down by 5.77% YoY during the review period.

Likewise, the import of Pulses fell by 17.07% YoY to clock in at $54.11m in the review month.

On a sequential basis, imports of Palm Oil increased by 37.85% while the imports of Pulses grew by 79.39% MoM, respectively.

The fourth major import group was the Food Group as the outflow of foreign currency stood at $535.52m, observing a decrease of 15.22% YoY, while increasing by 26.87%.

The import bill associated with the metal group clocked at $454.44m, rising by 37.43% YoY and 35.73% MoM in July.

Under the Textile Group, the country incurred an import expenditure worth $390.68m during the review period, up by 11.9% YoY and 10.52% MoM.

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