Despite the economic challenges, the imports of cellphones, vehicles, and tea have observed a significant rise, contributing to the worth of the rupee in the country’s economy.
A report by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) presents the statistics for the imports of various items for the current fiscal year. The report states that smartphones, valued at Rs. 135 billion, cars worth about Rs. 20 billion, parts amounting to Rs. 60 billion, and tea valued at approximately Rs. 64 billion were imported.
The PBS report suggests an increment of 108 percent in smartphone imports over the 4-month period (in dollar terms). Around $470 million worth of mobile phones were imported, interpreted as Rs. 135.47 billion (a 169 percent increase) in Pakistani rupee terms. Pakistan’s mobile imports in FY23 remained at $570 million (Rs. 136.8 billion in rupee terms). If maintained, the total mobile imports during the first five months are expected to surpass the mobile imports in the current year, FY23.
The import of vehicles witnessed a four-fold increment, with cars worth $67.8 million imported in 4MFY24, corresponding to Rs. 19.56 billion in PKR, contrasted with Rs. 5.02 billion in the parallel period last year. However, the imports of auto parts faced a decrement of 41 percent, aggregating to $208.4 million (Rs. 60.25 billion).
On the other hand, tea imports during 4MFY24 saw an increase of 16.35 percent, corresponding to 94,776 tons worth $223.9 million or Rs. 64.51 billion. Eminently, tea worth $58.5 million (~Rs. 24 billion) was solely imported in October.
The report further highlights the import of dry fruits, which rose by 50 percent in July-October FY24, leading to a significant strengthening of the import bill to $20 million.
