Mansoor Sadiq

Pakistan’s imports of agricultural machinery and equipment declined 66 percent in the first seven months (Jul-Jan) of the current Fiscal Year 2022-23 due to the non-issuance of LCs and other multiple issues, reports WealthPK. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), $24 million was spent on import of agricultural machinery and equipment from July 2022 to January 2023, which was 66 percent less than the imports made during the corresponding period of the Financial Year 2021-22.

In January 2023, $2 million was spent on import of agricultural machinery and equipment, which was 73 percent less than $9 million worth of import in the corresponding month of FY2022. It is worth mentioning that currently only wheat seed is produced locally, while seeds for other major cash crops, including cotton and sugarcane, are imported. The indigenous seeds have been replaced with imported GM seeds due to multiple reasons.

Conveying its concerns to the government, the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) has urged that the LCs be opened for the import of pesticides, seeds and agricultural machinery. Talking to WealthPK, PKI President Khalid Mahmood Khokhar said the government should prioritize food security and allow the opening of LCs for the agricultural sector to import machinery, equipment, pesticides and seeds.

He said the agriculture sector was time-bound and import of fertilizers like DAP and other phosphate fertilizers and nutrients was of key importance for wheat crop, as their unavailability will critically damage the growth of wheat plants.

Khalid further said that the cash crops which will suffer the most due to the unavailability of insecticides were rice, mango, vegetables, maize and sunflower. All these crops are of vital importance for food security and exports, which will ultimately dent the national economy, he added.

Owing to import restrictions and LCs’ non-issuance, the majority of industries in the country, including poultry, edible oil, fruit processing, have reduced their production, leading to massive inflation and unemployment. The availability of agricultural equipment will heighten mechanized production and efficient operations.

Similarly, the increasing rupee depreciation against dollar has also impacted the auto parts imports and production of tractors in the country due to which leading manufacturers, including Al-Ghazi and Millat Tractors, have halted their productions, leading to massive layoffs. Both the manufacturers had shut down production in January 2023, citing low demand and LCs constraints.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk