Food group exports decreased by 8.24%, whereas imports swelled 6.29% in the first seven months of the current financial year 2022-23 (7MFY23) compared to the corresponding period of the last fiscal. Food commodities worth $2.7 billion were exported, whereas those worth $5.9 billion were imported during the period under review compared to the exports of $2.9 billion and imports of $5.6 billion over the same period of last financial year, data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics showed, reports WealthPK.

On a year-on-year basis, food group exports decreased 18.43% in January 2023 to $384 million from $470 million in January 2022. On the other hand, food imports grew 28.71% during January 2023 to $1 billion against $146.485 million in January 2022. During the July-January period of FY23, exports of meat and meat preparations increased 18.84% as 50,759 metric tonnes of meat and meat products worth $228 million were exported compared to 43,765 metric tonnes ($191.957 million) over the same period last year.

About 13,318 metric tonnes of tobacco worth $37.878 million was also exported during the period under review compared to 11,601 metric tonnes ($32.613 million) over the same period of last year, posting a 16.14% increase year-on-year. Meanwhile, the exports of all other food items witnessed a 15.14% growth in 7MFY23 and stood at $567.146 million compared to $492.576 million in 7MFY22.

The commodities that observed negative growth in exports included rice (15.82%), fruits and vegetables (39.78% and 0.77%) and leguminous vegetables (25.52%). The imports of food items that increased during the period under review included wheat (23.47%), tea (2.61%), soyabean (206.30%) and palm oil (14.84%).

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk