Oil import bill drops by over 11 percent to $13.08 billion in nine months

ISLAMABAD-Pakistan’s oil import bill has dropped by over 11 percent in nine months (July to March) of the current fiscal year mainly due to the slowdown in economic activities in the country.

The country’s oil import bill was recorded at $13.08 billion during July to March period of the FY23 as against $14.8 billion in the same period of the previous year, showing a decline of 11.66 percent, according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Import of petroleum products was recorded at $5.8 billion in July to March of FY23 as against $7.3 billion in the same period of previous year. Crude oil imports rose by 4.69 percent to $3.86 billion and liquefied petroleum gas imports jumped by 3.78 percent to $533 million in value in FY23. However, import of natural gas (liquefied) has declined by 14.11 percent to $2.85 billion from $3.32 billion.

Meanwhile, the food import bill rose by over 3.76 percent to $7.33 billion in the period under review from $7.068 billion a year ago to bridge the local production gap. Within the food group, the major contribution came from wheat, edible oil, spices, and pulses. Wheat import has increased by 25.43 percent to $998 million in July to March period of FY23 as compared to $795 million in the same period of the previous year. Import of palm oil has enhanced by 6.83 percent to $2.97 billion and pulses import surged by over 58 percent.

Contrary to this, the machinery import bill declined by 48.18 percent to $4.496 billion in July-March against $8.676 billion in the same period last year. The major contribution to the decline came from the import of almost all sectors, including mobile phones and textile machinery. Mobile import has declined by 71.01 percent, power generating machinery by 67.7 percent and textile machinery by 54.21 percent. Meanwhile, the electrical machinery posted growth of 17.24 percent during the period under review. The PBS data showed that imports of other groups including textile, metal, agriculture and chemicals and miscellanies have also declined in the first nine months of the ongoing financial year.

According to the PBS data, the country’s overall imports have also fallen by 25.34 percent to $43.95 billion in July to March period of the current fiscal year from $58.86 billion in the same period of the previous year. Pakistan’s exports have declined by 9.87 percent to $21.04 billion in nine months of the ongoing financial year from $23.35 billion in corresponding period of the last year despite massive currency depreciation. The currency has depreciated by more than Rs100 against dollar in last one year. However, the exports have not enhanced. The country’s trade imbalance, gap between exports and imports, was recorded at $22.9 billion in nine months (July to March) period of the year 2022-23 as compared to $35.5 billion in the same period last year.

Textile export decreased by 12.4 percent to $12.476 billion as against $14.24 billion in the same period last year. All the major components of the group including cotton cloth, knitwear, bedwear, towels, and readymade garments exports declined sizably. In March 2023, the textile sector’s exports reached $1.257 billion, reflecting a 6.5 percent increase from the previous month of February 2023, when the exports were at $1.18 billion. Exports of cotton cloth in March 2023 decreased by 24.8 percent to $157.95 million compared to $210.1 million in March 2022. However, there was a 2.1 percent increase in exports from February 2023, when cotton cloth exports were $154.7 million.

In March 2023, compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, there was a decline in exports of various textile products: knitwear decreased by 26.7 percent to $311.4 million, bedwear fell by 24.6 percent to $196.8 million, readymade garments decreased by 19.8 percent to $276.4 million, towels declined by 23.4 percent to $78.8 million, and cotton yarn exports decreased by 26.3 percent to $68.1 million. Over the previous month, towel exports in March declined by 5.8 percent, whereas cotton yarn exports up by 2.96 percent, knitwear by 12.4 percent, readymade garments by 8.3 percent, cotton cloth by 2.1 percent and bedwear exports increased by 0.53 percent over February 2023.

Article source: https://www.nation.com.pk/19-Apr-2023/oil-import-bill-drops-by-over-11-percent-to-dollar-13-08-billion-in-nine-months