PoL import bill falls by 2.3pc to $6.054 billion

The imports of the overall petroleum group declined by 2.31 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year (2022-23) as compared to the corresponding period of the last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The total imports of the petroleum group during July-October (2022-23) stood at $ 6,054.093 million, as against the imports of $6,197.285 million last year, according to PBS data.

Among petroleum commodities, the import of petroleum products declined by 1.75 percent, from $2,894.733 million last year to $2,844.098 million during the period under review.

Likewise, the imports of liquified natural gas declined by 15.55 going down to $1,266.662 million this year against the imports of $1,499.912 million recorded during the corresponding period of last year.

On the other hand, the products that witnessed positive growth included petroleum crude, the imports of which grew by 6.61, from $1,620.191 million last year to $1,727.345 million whereas imports of liquified petroleum gas increased by 18.39 percent, from $ 182.343 million to $ 215.883 million. The imports of all other petroleum products declined by 1.61 percent, from $ 0.106 million to $0.104 million.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the petroleum group imports witnessed a decrease of 25.94 percent during the month of October 2022 as compared to the same month of last year.

The petroleum imports during October 2022 were recorded at $ 1,563.836 million against the imports of $ 1,604.338 million during October 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the petroleum imports into the country also decreased by 24.03 percent during October 2022 when compared to the imports of $ 1,604.338 million in October 2022, according to the data.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandize imports into the country decreased by 16.21 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year going down from $25,084 million last year to $21,018 million during July-October (2022-23). The exports during the period increased by 0.94 percent to $9,549 million as compared to the exports of $9,460 million during the corresponding period of last year.

Based on the figures, the trade deficit was recorded at $11,469 million this year against the deficit of $15,624 million last year, showing a decline of 26.59 percent, according to the data.