Pakistan witnessed an increase of 35% in the export of raw food products in February, rising to $702.46 million compared to $518.87 million in the same month last year, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
This marks the seventh consecutive month of growth in raw food exports during the current fiscal year, despite the country experiencing record-high food inflation.
The surge in food exports has led to a 20.2% increase in food inflation for February, as domestic prices for essential goods such as wheat flour, rice, onions, sugar, meat, and vegetables have risen.
The onset of Ramazan has further driven up the prices of vegetables and fruits to new highs.
After a slow start to the fiscal year with a 7.56% decline in raw food product exports, there was a turnaround to positive growth in August.
Subsequent months saw substantial increases, culminating in growth rates exceeding 100% in December and January.
Over the first eight months of FY24, food exports have grown by 54.05% to $4.96 billion from $3.22 billion in the previous year.
The spike in prices and shortage of supplies, particularly of onions and bananas, prompted the caretaker government to temporarily ban their export, with assurances from Commerce Minister Jam Kamal that the ban would be lifted post-Ramazan to stabilize domestic supply during the holy month.
Analysts attribute the export surge to the significant depreciation of the rupee and heightened international demand due to supply chain disruptions and higher prices abroad.
Additionally, India’s recent ban on rice exports has beneficially impacted Pakistan’s rice export figures, especially basmati rice, leading to an 85.83% increase in rice exports in the July-February period of FY24.
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