Based on data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the import landscape of Pakistan in November 2023 reveals a dynamic scenario, with the petroleum group leading the way, machinery seeing a notable increase, and the textile sector seeing a decline.
1. PETROLEUM GROUP:
The petroleum group’s import bill increased by 5.76% YoY to $1.32 billion in November 2023 from $1.25 billion in the same month the previous year.
The import bill stayed comparatively steady on a monthly basis. With petroleum products making up 29.76% of the total import bill in November, the total import bill increased to $4.45 billion, 2.86% YoY and 1.82% MoM.
The petroleum product import bill for the entire 5MFY24 decreased by a substantial 35% to $5.72 billion from $8.8 billion during the same period the previous year.
2. TRANSPORT SECTOR:
In November 2023, the transport sector’s import bill dropped by 12% year over year to $109 million, from $124.2 million in the same month the previous year.
The industry saw a monthly increase of about 9% MoM from $100.4 million in October 2023. The total amount of imports into the transport sector in 4MFY24 increased by 3% YoY to $627.72 million.
3. AGRI-CHEMICAL SECTOR:
This category’s imports climbed by 10.67% YoY and 12.5% MoM in November 2023 to $863.17 million. Nonetheless, this group’s imports during 5MFY24 decreased 3.8% YoY to $3.86 billion.
4. FOOD IMPORTS:
In November 2023, Pakistan imported food worth about $657 million, a 14% YoY increase.
The monthly payment was essentially unaltered. In 5MFY24, the food industry’s import bill decreased significantly by 19.5% to $2.92 million from $3.63 million in 5MFY22.
5. MACHINERY AND METALS:
In November 2023, machinery imports reached $552.27 million, up 43% YoY, while the import bill for the metal group increased significantly by 44% YoY to $431.87 million.
This spike was ascribed to a sharp rise in iron and steel imports, which reached $204.4 million in November.
6. TEXTILE GROUP:
The nation spent $266.854 million on imports under the textile group during the review period, a notable 40.42% YoY decrease.
Stakeholders and analysts are closely watching Pakistan as it navigates these changes in its import dynamics and the implications for trade balances and economic stability.
Pakistan’s total textile exports in November 2023 decreased by 5.43% month over month to $1.37 billion from $1.45 billion the month before.
In November 2023, the textile export group saw a 3.52% decrease from the previous year. All told, textile exports fell 10.14 percent year over year in the first five months of FY24, to $6.9 billion, from $7.67 billion in the same period the previous fiscal year.
According to the Balance of Payments (BOP) for November 2022, total exports were $2.73 billion, a significant increase of 21.53% year over year over $2.25 billion in November 2022. On the other hand, exports declined by 1.16% on a monthly basis.
