Pakistan’s imports reached a near three-year high of $5.66 billion in March, with wheat and sugar, oil and gas, fertilizers and pesticides, cars, cell phones, and machinery and equipment for factories all contributing significantly.
The rise in imports indicates that Pakistan’s economic activity is picking up as the Covid-19 pandemic enters its third wave.
However, continued increases in imports – which increased by more than 71 percent to $5.66 billion in March from $3.3 billion the previous month – could expand Pakistan’s current account deficit, weakening the country’s ability to make international payments for imports and repay foreign debt.
Arif Habib Limited Head of Research Tahir Abbas said, “The latest trade figures do not indicate that the economy is heating up.”
“The good news is that exports and imports both increased in March,” he added.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) announced on Saturday that exports increased by 31% to $2.36 billion in March from $1.81 billion the previous month.
