According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan’s food imports increased by 13.81% during July to April of FY26, reaching 7.848 billion dollars compared to 6.898 billion dollars in the same period last year.
Imports of milk products, dry fruits, tea, and palm oil also increased, with palm oil crossing 3.3 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, soybean oil imports fell sharply by more than 61 percent, while wheat imports dropped to zero.
On the export side, Pakistan’s food exports stood at 4.19 billion dollars in the first ten months of FY26, showing a big decline of 32.2 percent compared to last year.
This shows growing pressure in the country’s food trade sector, as imports are rising while exports are falling.
Overall, the data indicates that Pakistan is importing more essential food items while earning less from food exports, which is increasing concern about the trade balance in the agriculture and food sector.
Rising imports of items like milk products, tea, palm oil and dry fruits show higher domestic demand and dependency on foreign supply, especially for edible oil where palm oil remains the largest import.
At the same time, the sharp fall in soybean oil imports and wheat imports suggests changes in sourcing patterns and improved local availability or policy shifts.
On the export side, the decline highlights weaker performance in food exports, which may need policy attention to improve competitiveness and increase earnings in coming months.
Weak export growth combined with rising imports shows pressure on Pakistan’s food trade balance and calls for long-term corrective measures and better planning needed.
