Pakistan’s petroleum import bill surges by 8 per cent MoM

WEB DESK: The import bill for Pakistan’s petroleum group saw a slight year-on-year (YoY) increase in May 2024, reaching $1.36 billion, up by 1.52 per cent from the $1.34 billion recorded in May 2023.

This information was revealed in the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).

On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the import bill for petroleum products rose by 8 per cent, from $1.26 billion in April 2024. Petroleum products accounted for 26.99 per cent of the total import bill in May 2024.

For the 11-month period of the fiscal year 2023 (11MFY23), the import bill of petroleum products showed a significant decline of 23.2 per cent YoY, amounting to $13.7 billion compared to $17.84 billion during the same period the previous year.

Overall, Pakistan’s import bill increased substantially by 34.52 per cent YoY to $5.05 billion in May 2024. On a monthly basis, imports grew by 13.44 per cent compared to the $4.45 billion recorded in April 2024.

Despite this increase, cumulative imports for the 11-month period of FY24 decreased slightly by 2.25 per cent YoY, totaling $48.4 billion compared to $49.52 billion in the same period of FY23.

In the transport sector, the import bill rose significantly by 81.78 per cent YoY to $166.45 million in May 2024, up from $91.56 million in May 2023. This rise is primarily due to the increased import of road motor vehicles, which surged by 120.63 per cent YoY to $157.87 million from $71.55 million in May 2023.

On a MoM basis, transport imports grew by 41.67 per cent compared to $117.49 million in the previous month. Cumulatively, transport sector imports in 11MFY24 increased by 19.03 per cent YoY to $1.43 billion, compared to $1.2 billion in 11MFY23.

Other significant import groups in May 2024 included the Machinery Group and the Agriculture & Other Chemical Group, with import values of $848.49 million and $802.93 million, respectively.

The import of agricultural and other chemicals showed an increase of 29.82 per cent YoY and 8.46 per cent MoM, reaching $802.93 million.

These figures highlight the varying trends in Pakistan’s import sectors, reflecting both growth and declines in different areas over the past year.

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