Pakistan recently experienced a remarkable surge in tea imports, surpassing $436 million over eight months of this financial year, despite facing economic challenges. From July through February 2023-24 alone, approximately 180,509 tons worth $4366.677 million worth of tea was imported and valued at this figure according to data provided by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This represents an increase of 10.13 percent compared with similar periods last year according to data published by PBS.
Monthly tea imports increased significantly by 38.53% in October 2016 as 18,685 metric tons worth $45.269 million were imported during that month - an impressive rise compared to 15,365 tons costing $32.678 million from November 2014.
As expected, imports of edible oils, both soyabean and palm, experienced a decline during this period. Palm oil imports fell 48.10% year-on-year to $1.810 billion with over 1.959 million metric tons imported compared to 1.115 million the year prior; soyabean oil imports fell 32.47% with only 97,455 tons valued at $105.664 million imported; showing negative growth by 48.10% versus the prior year.
However, monthly soyabean oil imports grew by 35.34% while palm oil imports increased by 5,505 metric tons compared to February 2023 (224,074 tons valued at $199.078 million imported compared to same month of 2023).
Pakistan's food group exports saw an incredible 54.05% year-on-year increase, reaching $4.969 billion compared to $3.225 billion during the same timeframe last year. Despite fluctuations in imports, exports experienced significant growth: an impressive 54.05% jump.
Imports of food commodities also decreased by 18.33% during this review period, totalling $5.461 billion instead of the $6.687 billion seen last year during this same timeframe.