The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported a significant 15.74% increase in the petroleum group imports during the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 compared to the same period last year. Between July and September 2024, petroleum imports reached $4,053.017 million, up from $3,501.860 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.
However, within the petroleum commodities, the import of petroleum products declined by 10.60%, from $1,515.733 million to $1,355.072 million year-on-year. In contrast, the import of petroleum crude saw a substantial increase of 51.02%, rising from $947.176 million to $1,430.416 million. Imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) also grew by 14.30%, from $898.428 million to $1,026.900 million, while liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports surged by 71.19%, reaching $240.503 million compared to $140.489 million last year.
On a year-on-year basis, petroleum imports in September 2024 rose by 4.33% compared to September 2023, totaling $1,388.420 million. However, month-on-month figures showed a slight decrease of 0.71% in September 2024, down from $1,398.324 million in July 2024.
Additionally, PBS data highlighted that Pakistan’s merchandise exports increased by 14.11% in the first quarter of 2024-25, reaching $7.875 billion compared to $6.901 billion during the same period last year. Meanwhile, imports also grew by 9.86%, from $12.115 million to $13.310 million during the same period. This resulted in a trade deficit of $5.435 billion, up 4.24% from the previous year’s deficit of $5.214 billion.
