The imports of motor cars, both completely built up (CBU) as well as semi-knocked down (SKD) and completely knocked down (CKD), witnessed a sharp decline of 66% and 40.37%, respectively, during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year (2022-23) compared to last year (2021-22), WealthPK reported. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the imports of CKD/SKD cars were recorded at $722.524 million during July-December FY23 compared to $1.211 billion during July-December FY22, showing a decline of 40.37%.

Likewise, Pakistan imported CBU cars worth $108.453 million during the period under review compared to $318.999 million last year, showing a decline of 66%. Overall, transport group imports declined by 49.84% during the period under review. The imports of the group were recorded at $1.163 billion compared to $2.318 billion last year. The overall merchandise imports decreased by 22.97% during the period under review, going down from $40.563 billion last year to $31.245 billion during the current year. The exports were recorded at $14.258 billion against $15.125 billion last year, showing a decline of 5.73%. The trade deficit during the first six months of the current fiscal year witnessed a decline of 33.22% and was recorded at $16.987 billion against $25.438 billion during the corresponding period of last year.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk