POL import bill shrinks by 16.19%

F.P, Report

ISLAMABAD: The imports of the overall petroleum group contracted by 16.19 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (2023-24) compared to the corresponding period of the last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The total imports of the petroleum group during July-November (2023-24) stood at $ 6,453.914 million against the imports of $7,700.269 million during the same period of last year.

Among petroleum commodities, the import of petroleum products declined by 25.08 per cent, from $ 3,552.323 million last year to $2,661.234 million during the period under review.

Likewise, the imports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) declined by 7.47 per cent from $ 1,584.800 million last year to $ 1,466.418 million this year whereas petroleum crude dipped by 9.71 per cent from $ 2,273.328 million to $ 2,052.542 million.

The import of Liquefied Petroleum Gas went down by 5.53 per cent in the first five months of the current fiscal year and stood at $273.641 million compared to $289.671 in the corresponding period in 2022.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the petroleum group imports witnessed a decrease of -13.44 per cent during November 2023 as compared to the same month of last year, from $ 1,646.183 million to $1,424.903 million.

On a month-on-month basis, the petroleum imports into the country also came down by 6.70 per cent during November 2023, compared to the imports of $1,527.147 million in October 2023, according to the PBS data. (APP)