ISLAMABAD, June 20: The import bill of petroleum products, machinery and agriculture implements recorded a hefty growth during 11 months (July-May) of the fiscal year 2005-06, over the same period last year. The total import bill reached $25.598bn as against $18.368 billion in the same period last year, indicating an increase of 39.36 per cent.

Official figures available with Dawn showed that the import bill of petroleum products alone rose by 64.30 per cent to $5.957 billion during 11 months of the current fiscal year as against $3.626 billion in the same period last year. The share of oil in total country's import bill rose to 23.27 per cent.

In total POL imports, the share of petroleum crude rose by 71.28 per cent to $3.407 billion during the period under review as against $1.989 billion in the corresponding period last year.

According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, the second biggest component of the import bill was of machinery group which recorded a growth of 35.04 per cent to $7.026 billion during the July-May 2005-06 period as against $5.203 billion in the same period last year.

Of these import of road motor vehicles registered a robust growth of 52.67 per cent in value. The import bill of agriculture implements increased by 117.78 per cent, electrical machinery and apparatus 39.26 per cent, power generating machinery 26.30 per cent, construction and mining machinery 33.69 per cent and office machines by 4.53 per cent.

However, the import of textile machinery declined by 17.88 per cent. The import of consumer goods rose by 36.29 per cent to $1.720 billion during the July-May period of the current fiscal year as against $1.262 billion during the same period last year. Of consumer goods, the import of wheat rose by 26.27pc, sugar 607.74pc, dry fruits 30.58pc, milk products 75.46pc and pulses by 39.64pc. However, tea imports declined by 1.64 per cent.

The import bill of metal group has increased by 52.30pc to $1.647bn as against $1.081bn and agriculture and chemicals up by 17.21pc to $3.758bn as against $3.206bn during the same period last year.