Pakistan's tea imports increase by 2.21% to $192 million during 4MFY23

• Tea imports from July-October recorded at $192.474 million.
• Imports decrease by 8.90% in terms of quantity.
• Pakistan's overall food imports increase by 9.71%.

ISLAMABAD: The tea imports witnessed an increase of 2.21% during the first four months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding month of last year.

The tea imports from July-October (2022-23) were recorded at $192.474 million against the imports of $188.304 million from July-October (2021-22), according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, the tea imports, however, decreased by 8.90% during the period under review as these went down from 84,590 metric tonnes last year to 77,065 metric tonnes during the same months of the current fiscal year, the data revealed.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the tea imports surged by 54.09% in October 2022 when compared to the imports of the same month of last year. During October 2022, the country imported tea worth $57.272 million as against the exports of $37.169 million last August.

On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the tea imports however increased by 32.30% when compared to the imports of $43.290 million in September 2022.

In terms of quantity, the tea imports into the country during October 2022 were recorded at 22,829 metric tonnes compared to the imports of 17,360 metric tonnes in September 2022 and 16,121 metric tonnes in October 2021, showing growth of 31.50% over September 2022 and 54.09% over October 2021.

The overall food imports into the country increased by 9.71% during the first four months of the current fiscal year and were recorded at $3,431.022 million against $ 3,127.240 million in July-October (2021-22).

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandise imports into the country decreased by 16.21% during the first four months of the current fiscal year going down from $25,084 million last year to $21,018 million from July-October (2022-23).

The exports during the period increased by 0.94% 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%, according to the data.