ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s combined import bill of food, oil and machinery swelled by over 17 percent during first quarter (July-September) of the ongoing financial year increasing overall imports bill of the country.

The import bill of these three groups had cost $7.57 billion during July-September of the FY2018 as against $6.45 billion of the corresponding period of the last year, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The country’s overall import had ballooned to $14.26 billion mainly due to heavy imports of food, oil and machinery goods during July-September of the FY2018 as against $11.67 billion of the same period last year.

The soaring imports are one of the main challenges for the economic managers of the country. The increases in imports are widening the trade deficit of the country, which had gone to $9.01 billion during July-September of the FY2018 as against $7 billion during same period of the previous year showing an increase of 29.75 percent. The government has recently imposed Regulatory Duties on imported commodities and slapped restrictions on import of 581 food items as non-tariff barriers (NTBs) were imposed through a statutory regulatory order (SRO) aimed at reducing import bill during the current fiscal year.

According to the PBS, the country had spent $3.17 billion on imports of petroleum group, which is 34.45 percent higher over a year ago. In petroleum products, the government had imported petroleum products worth of $1.88 billion and spent $810.9 million on petroleum crude. Similarly, the country had imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) worth of $397 million and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) worth of $74.8 million.

The PBS data showed that country had spent $2.78 billion on importing machinery during first quarter of the ongoing financial year, which is 1.82 percent higher than the import of $2.73 billion of the corresponding period of the last year. The growth was mainly driven by electrical machinery, which rose by 4.19 percent, telecom machinery 21.84 percent, textile machinery 26.53 percent and agricultural machinery enhanced by 37.26 percent during first quarter of the current fiscal year.

The third-biggest component was food commodities whose imports rose 19.35 percent year-on-year to $1.62 billion. In food group, imports of dry fruits and nuts enhanced by 31.09 percent, tea 2 percent, spices 51.61 percent, soya bean oil 78.11 percent and palm oil imports increased by 38.53 percent during first quarter of the ongoing financial year.