ISLAMABAD: Food exports from the country surged by 26.68 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (5MFY22) as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Tuesday.
According to details, food group exports during the July-November period were recorded at $1,947.414 million against the exports of $1,537.317 million in July-November FY21, according to PBS data.
The commodities that contributed in positive growth of food group trade included rice, the exports of which grew by 13.07pc from $730.703 million last year to $826.216 million during the current fiscal year.
Among rice commodities, exports of Basmati increased by 32.99pc from $196.534 million to $261.364 million and other rice commodities by 5.74pc, from $534.169 million to $564.852 million.
The only food product that witnessed negative growth in trade included fish and fish preparations, the exports of which declined by 9.72pc, from $166.702 million to $150.502 million.
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, food exports increased by 26.44pc from $407.079 million in November 2020 to $514.697 million in November 2021.
On month-on-month basis, exports witnessed positive growth of 24.61pc in November when compared to the exports of $413.036 million in October 2021.
It is pertinent to mention here that the overall exports from the country witnessed an increase of 26.89pc during 5MFY22 as compared to the corresponding months of last year.
According to PBS data, exports from the country were recorded at $12.364 billion during 5MFY22 against the exports of $9.744 billion recorded during 5MFY21, showing a growth of 26.9pc.
On the other hand, overall imports during the months under review also went up by 69.57pc by growing from $19.468 billion last year to $33.012 billion in 5MFY22.
Based on the data, the trade deficit during the period under review was recorded at $20.648 billion, showing an increase of 112.34pc over the deficit of $9.724 billion recorded during 5MFY21.
