Fozia Azam

The imports of chemicals used in agriculture and other industries have declined USD 1.073 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal year (2022-23) as against the same months of last fiscal year (2021-22). During the first four months of FY-2022-23 (July—October), the imports of chemicals stood at USD 3.477 billion. However, in the same months of FY-2021-22, they were around USD 4.550 billion.

According to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the imports of agricultural chemicals decreased by 23.58% in the months under review of the going fiscal year as compared to the last fiscal year. In the first four months of FY-2022-23, 361,923 metric tons of fertilizers were imported with a total cost of USD 218.143 million to fulfill the needs of the Rabi season.

During the same season last year, the imports of agricultural chemicals stood at USD 483.857 million, with total tonnage amounting to 818,915 metric tons. In addition, the import of 11,860 metric tons of insecticides cost around USD 75.295 million in the four months of the going fiscal year, whereas last year, they were 10,350 metric tons worth USD 48.941 million, thus showing an increase of 53.85% year on year.

Pakistan spent USD 477.701 million on the import of 13,619 metric tons of medicinal products and USD 873.209 million on the import of plastic materials. The imports of both commodities during the period under review decreased by 66.70% and 9.70%, respectively. During the first four months, an amount of USD 1.833 billion has also been spent on the imports of other agriculture inputs and products as against the imports of USD 1.169 billion last year to fulfill the local needs of the farming community.

 Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk