ISLAMABAD -The imports of plastic materials into the country witnessed decline of 7.94 percent during the first eight months of current financial year (2019-20) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
Pakistan imported plastic worth $1326.052 million during July-February (2019-20) compared to the imports of $1440.492 million during July-February (2018-19), showing negative growth of 7.94 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
In terms of quantity, the imports of plastic witnessed increase of 7.23 percent as the country imported 1,059,006 metric ton of plastic during the period under review compared to the imports of 987,612 metric ton during last fiscal year.
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the plastic imports into the country during February 2020 witnessed increase of 6.53 percent when compared to the imports of the same month of the last year.
The plastic imports during the months under review were recorded at $202.790 million against the imports of $190.354 million during February 2019.
On month-on-month basis, the plastic imports during February 2020 also increased by 15.54 percent when compared to the imports of $175.518 million in January 2020, the data revealed.
It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 26.45 percent during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same months of last year.
During the period under review, the country’s exports registered about 2.23 per cent growth, whereas imports reduced by 14.42 per cent, according the foreign trade statistics, released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
During the period from July-March (2019-20), exports reached to $17.451 billion against the exports of $17.071 billion of the same period of last year, it added.
Meanwhile, the country’s imports witnessed significant decrease of 14.42 % as these went down from $40.679 billion in first nine months of last financial year to $34.814 billion of same period of current financial year, it said.