According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country witnessed a notable 5.53% increase in tea imports during the first half of the current fiscal year, as compared to the corresponding period last year.
The figures indicate a rise from $318.798 million to $336.423 million in tea imports from July to December 2023-24. In terms of quantity, the import of tea surged by 9.12%, reaching 139,751 metric tonnes compared to the previous year’s 128,068 metric tonnes.
However, analyzing the data on a year-on-year basis reveals a decline of 16.80% in tea imports for December 2023, totaling $58.869 million. Despite this decrease in December, the overall food group imports for the initial half of the fiscal year recorded a notable decline of 19.48%, amounting to $3,957.188 billion.
Notably, the country’s merchandise trade deficit demonstrated a contraction of 34.29% during this period, narrowing down to $11.148 billion from $16.965 billion in the same period last year. This shift can be attributed to the positive momentum in exports, which witnessed a growth of 5.17% to reach $14.981 billion. Simultaneously, there was a significant decrease in imports by 16.28%, totaling $26.129 billion.
The evolving dynamics in tea imports, alongside the broader trends in the trade balance, present a multifaceted picture of Pakistan’s economic landscape during the first half of the fiscal year.
