ISLAMABAD: Imports of eatables and oil rose nearly 28 per cent year-on-year to $10 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year owing to a rise in global prices of grains and crude.

Their share surged to 35pc in the country’s total import bill in July-December 2017, putting pressure on the balance of payments.

The trade deficit is ballooning because of the upward trajectory in the import bill of oil for the past few months. The gap widened 24pc year-on-year in the first half of 2017-18 despite several measures that the government took to control imports.

Official figures compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) show that imports under the petroleum group increased 33.4pc to $6.7 billion in the period under review. The petroleum group includes petroleum crude, natural gas liquefied and petroleum gas liquefied. Imports of petroleum products went up 21.06pc to $3.8bn. An increase of 50.6pc was recorded in the petroleum crude as it amounted to $1.7bn.

The import bill of natural gas liquefied surged 72pc while that of petroleum gas liquefied rose 35pc during the period under review. A double-digit growth was recorded in the imported quantities of all these products. The second biggest component was food commodities as their imports rose 13pc to $3.3bn.

This increase is because of massive imports of palm oil worth $1.03bn followed by ‘other’ food items ($1.3bn), pulses ($270 million), tea ($284m) and milk products ($125m). Imports of dried fruits and milk products also grew during the period under review.

In contrast, the import bill of machinery fell 3.11pc to $5.5bn. The decline was mainly driven by power-generating machinery, whose imports drooped 26pc, office machinery 8.3pc and construction machinery 24pc during the period under review.

However, imports of textile machinery went up 11.2pc, electrical machinery 11pc and telecom 12pc. In telecom, imports of mobile sets and parts witnessed a double-digit growth. The import bill of the telecom sector rose despite an increase in the duty on mobile phones and other apparatus.

The government has imposed fresh regulatory duties and also linked the clearance of goods with compliance to several global standards. Moreover, the State Bank of Pakistan has also imposed the 100pc cash margin requirement on imports of a number of items. This means banks now require importers to furnish foreign currency for the full purchase amount in advance on about 400 imported consumer goods, including vehicles, mobile phones and home appliances.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2018