Arsalan Ali

Pakistan imported machinery worth 10,920 million from other countries in the financial year 2021-22 as industrial development is impossible without modern machinery, WealthPK reports.

The data of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) shows that the import of machinery by the country grew by 8% as its volume was $10,147 million in the fiscal year 2020-21.

In the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal, from April to June, the import of machinery declined by 26% and reached $2,244 million, as compared to $3,014 million in the same period of the financial year 2020-21.

In addition, import payments of machinery group in the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal dipped to $2,244 million, showing a decrease of 23% as compared to $2,769 million in the third quarter, from January to March, of the same financial year.

The data shows that the import of power generating machinery, textile machinery, construction and mining machinery, electrical machinery and apparatus, telecom, mobile phone, agricultural machinery and others showed a decline of 58%, 33%, 2%, 25%, 18%, 28%, 26% and 13%, respectively, during the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal as compared to the same period of the financial year 2020-21.

Moreover, the import of power generating machinery, office machines including data processing equipment, textile machinery, construction and mining machinery, electrical machinery and apparatus, telecom, mobile phone and other apparatus, agricultural machinery and others showed a decrease of 4%, 27%, 31%, 20%, 12%, 30%, 32%, 26%, 36% and 29%, respectively, during the fourth quarter of the previous fiscal as compared to the third quarter of the same year.

Sajid Ali, a research associate at TDAP, told WealthPK that growth of industry depended on the import of machinery, which played an important role in the economic growth. He added that the import of machinery declined owing to political instability in the country.

He said political chaos was affecting the economy as no investor was ready to launch a new business project in the country. “The import of machinery is also affected due to the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar,” he added.

Sajd Ali said that most of the industrialists imported machinery by taking a loan from the bank but high interest rate discouraged them. He said that the industrialists needed to pay additional amount for importing machinery owing to the depreciation of the Pakistani currency. He added that delay in the import of machinery would disturb the plans of industrialists.

However, he said that the import of machinery, except power generating machinery and mobile phones, showed increasing trends. He added that the import of power generating machinery and mobile phones declined by 23% and 4%, respectively, on a yearly basis.

Sajid Ali said that modern machinery was a must for development of industries. “The textile sector is a major contributor to exports. The exports of textile sector have increased over the time because of the import of modern machinery,” he told WealthPaK.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPak