Food imports register a declining trend

Major products contributing to negative growth included tea, spices and sugar.

KARACHI:

Food imports into the country witnessed a decrease during the first two months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year easing the burden nominally on the country’s current accounts, according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

The major products that contributed in negative growth included tea, spices and sugar. On the other hand, the products that contributed in positive growth were dairy products, dry fruits and nuts, soya bean oil and pulses.

It is pertinent to mention that overall imports into the country during the period under review witnessed decrease of 1.99%.The imports into the country were recorded at $7.346 billion in the two months of fiscal 2012-13 against the imports of $7.495 billion in the corresponding period previous year.

The country’s trade deficit too contracted marginally in the first two months of the current fiscal year due to a decline in both exports and imports. Exports too fell 3.3% or $134 million in the July-August period of this fiscal year as goods worth $3.97 billion were exported compared to the corresponding period of previous year.

Previously, in a bid to protect the economy, independent economists and those working with global institutions warned Pakistan about the implications of the European debt crisis for Pakistan. They suggested more focus on exploring regional markets as dependence on US and European economies will make the country vulnerable to a crisis. However, they also said that continuous decline in exports and pick-up in imports in coming months will surely have implications for the current account at a time when the country has to pay back $2.9 billion to the IMF before June 2013.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd, 2012.