POL import bill contracts by 11.66pc in nine months

Islamabad: The imports of the overall petroleum group contracted by 11.66 percent during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (2022-23) as 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-March (2022-23) stood at $13,083.145 million, as against the imports of $14,810.060 million during the same period of last year, according to PBS data.

Among petroleum commodities, the import of petroleum products declined by 19.91 percent, from $7,287.499 million last year to $5,836.530 million during the time period under review.

Likewise, the imports of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) declined by 14.11 percent and dropped from $3,320.707 million last year to $2,852.191 million this year.

On the other hand, the products that witnessed positive growth included petroleum crude, the imports of which grew by 4.69 percent, from $3,687.672 million last year to $3,860.732 million whereas imports of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) increased by 3.78 percent, from $513.964 million to $533.415 million.

The imports of all other petroleum products increased by 27.19 percent, from $ 0.217 million to $0.276 million.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the petroleum group imports witnessed a decrease of 35.19 percent during the month of March 2023 as compared to the same months of last year.

The petroleum imports during March 2023 were recorded as $1,206.434 million against the imports of $1,861.556 million during March 2022.

On a month-on-month basis, the petroleum imports into the country also declined by 4.63 percent during March 2023, as compared to the imports of $1,264.981 million in February 2023, said the data.