Islamabad August 19 2023: The imports of petroleum in Pakistan experienced a notable decline of 44.89 percent in July 2023, as per the latest data unveiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
This reduction in petroleum imports can be attributed to an 88 percent year-on-year decrease in the import of crude oil and a 51 percent decrease in the import of volumetric petroleum products.
During July 2023, the total value of petroleum imports dropped by 44.89 percent compared to the previous year, amounting to USD 791 million. This marks the lowest level of imports recorded since November 2020. Furthermore, these imports have declined by 51 percent in comparison to the preceding month.
The reason for this import decline can be attributed to the higher prices of petroleum products and the economic slowdown, which is a result of the prevailing conditions of record-high inflation and elevated interest rates.
In terms of volume, the imports of petroleum products experienced a decline of 21.29 percent in July 2023, reaching a total of 602 thousand tons. In the same period, the import of crude oil experienced a substantial plummet of 88.47 percent, totaling 74.6 thousand tons.
On a different note, the imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) saw a notable increase of 47.32 percent, amounting to USD 339 million in July 2023, as compared to USD 230 million in July 2022. Conversely, the imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) observed a slight decline of 1.92 percent in July 2023, totaling USD 45.48 million, down from USD 46.39 million during the same month of the previous year.
