ISLAMABAD: The country’s oil import bill witnessed a reduction of 22.32pc during the first half (July-Dec) of the current fiscal year (FY21) as compared to the corresponding period of FY20, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Tuesday.
The overall oil imports were recorded at $4.77 billion in 1HFY21, as against the imports of $6.14 billion in 1HFY20, the data showed.
Commodities that contributed to the decline in oil import bill included petroleum products, the imports of which decreased by 16.30pc, from $2.59 billion last year to $2.16 billion during the period under review.
As per the data, the import of petroleum crude decreased from $1.77 billion to $1.32 billion (-25.31pc), while that of natural gas (liquefied) dropped from $1.62 billion to $1.05 billion (-35.33pc).
On the other hand, the imports of petroleum gas (liquefied) jumped from $153 million to $227.643 million (+48.79pc), while the import of all other oil products increased from $0.067 million to 0.078 million (+16.42pc).
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the country oil import bill shrunk 20.04pc to $824.872 million in December 2020 when compared to the imports of $1.03 billion in December 2019.
However, on a month-on-month basis, oil imports increased 6.03pc in December 2020 when compared to the imports of $777.977 million in November 2020.
It is pertinent to mention that the country’s merchandize exports increased 4.98pc during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The exports from the country during July-December FY21 were recorded at $12.098 billion against the exports of $11.524 billion during July-December FY20. Likewise, imports into the country during the period under review also increased 5.72pc, from $23.195 billion last year to $24.521 billion during the first half of FY21.
Based on the figures, the country’s trade deficit increased by 6.44pc during the first half of FY21 compared to the corresponding period of last year. The country’s trade deficit was recorded at $12.423 billion in 1HFY21 as against the deficit of $11.671 billion last year.
