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January 20, 2020 (MLN): The overall exports of petroleum group & coal have witnessed a decline of 46.45% YoY to stand at $28.26 million in December 2019 against $52.78 million of December 2018.

During 1HFY20, the exports of the petroleum group & coal plunged by 37.66% YoY to value at $168 million against $269 million of the corresponding period of last fiscal year, as per the latest data issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

Similarly, the imports of petroleum group were recorded at $1.03 billion in December 2019, showing a decline of 8.73%YoY versus $1.13 billion in December 2018.

The data from PBS revealed that imports of petroleum stood at $6.14 billion, depicting a decline of 19.87% YoY during 1HFY20.

On the exports front, within the petroleum group, the main exportable products are petroleum crude and petroleum top naphtha. The exports of petroleum crude and petroleum products showed a massive decline by 24%YoY and 72% YoY during 1HFY20.

On a monthly basis, the export receipts for Petroleum group deteriorated by 31.17% MoM.

On the imports front, the products that contributed in declining Petroleum import bill include, Petroleum Products, Petroleum Crude and Natural Liquefied Gas as their imports declined considerably by 24%, 27% and 5% YoY respectively during 1HFY20

Similarly, during December alone, the import payments for Petroleum group deteriorated by 11% MoM.

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January 20, 2020 (MLN): Pakistan’s textile exports during Jul- Dec FY20 have increased by 4% YoY as shipments in the first six months increased to $ 6.9 billion from $6.64 billion during the corresponding period of last year.

According to the latest data issued by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on export receipts by commodities, the textile products remained the major exportable goods for Pakistan as it accounted 60% of the total exports during the period.

In the month of December alone, textile exports declined by 3% MoM whereas, it remained stagnant when it compared with the figures of Dec 2018.

Within the textile group, the major exportable goods during Jul- Dec FY20 include Knitwear, Readymade Garments, Bedwears and Cotton Cloth.

The exports of Knitwear, Readymade Garments and Bed Wear surged by 7.59%, 12%  and 3.16% YoY to $1.58 billion, $1.4 billion and $1.19 billion respectively. Whereas, the exports of Cotton Cloth dipped by 3.7% YoY to $1 billion during the period under review.

On the other hand, Pakistan imported $979.4 million worth of textile products from foreign countries, marking a significant decline of 27% YoY during the period mentioned above.

Meanwhile, in the month of December, textile imports witnessed a significant decline of 22%YoY and 2%MoM.

Synthetic & Artificial Silk Yarn and Synthetic Fibre appared as the major import items within the group, their imports during the period declined massively by 10% and 22% YoY.

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January 20, 2020 (MLN): The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet, has given the approval for the import of 0.3 million tons of wheat to help overcome the demand-supply gap in a meeting, chaired by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh.

The import of wheat would be allowed till March 31, 2020, said a statement issued by the Finance Ministry, adding that the first shipment of the imports is likely to arrive in the country by February 15.

The ECC has also directed the Punjab government and Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASCO) to release their extra stocks to overcome the shortage, it said.

The statement added that the government of Punjab and PASSCO were having  4.1 million tons of wheat stocks available with them.

The committee also approved the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) waiver of Rs400 per bag to ensure the supply of cheap fertilizer to the farmers.

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January 20, 2020 (MLN): Pakistan’s trade deficit in services stood at $1.79 billion during the first six months of Financial Year 2020, signifying a fall of 17.5%, as compared to the same period of last year.

Likewise, the deficit during the quarter Oct-Dec was recorded at $666 million, which is around 41% lower than the previous quarter.

According to the latest figures published by the State Bank of Pakistan, the services trade deficit during December 2019 stood at $239 million against $259 million in November 2019, suggesting a drop of 7.7%.

The exports of services during the month of December amounted to $2.6 million, which brought the cumulative exports for the first half of current Fiscal Year at $15.1 billion. Amongst the total exports, Telecommunications, Computer and Information Services made the largest contribution with an amount of $653 million, followed by Government Goods and Services at $599 million.

On the contrary, the imports of services during the month amounted to $4.6 billion, which brought the cumulative imports for the six months at $26.7 billion. Amongst the total imports, the largest expenditure was incurred on Transport group for an amount of $1.67 billion, followed by the Travel Group at $775 million. 

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January 20, 2020: Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar says sufficient wheat stocks are available in the country to fulfill domestic requirements of flour.

Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, he expressed firm resolve to take strict action against those involved in hoarding, profiteering or creating artificial crisis of the commodity in domestic markets. 

The Minister said current scenario of wheat and flour emerged due to multiple reasons, including transporters' strike in Karachi which effected supply in local markets of Sindh and ban on movement of wheat between Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to curb its smuggling.

He said both the causes have been dually addressed and supply of grains restored, which has bridged the demand and supply gap.

He said the situation would be smooth in the local markets and wheat prices would also come down in a couple of days.

Khusro Bakhtiar said a special helpline has been established to monitor the wheat supply in local markets.

Radio Pakistan