Pakistan sees significant increase in imports from Iran

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s imports from Iran have witnessed a substantial surge, with a 47 per cent increase on a yearly basis, ARY News reported citing government sources.

According to details, the country’s imports from Iran stood at $533 million from July to November 2024, up from $398 million during the same period last year.

The first five months of the fiscal year saw a 34 percent increase in imports from Iran.

In November 2024 alone, the volume of imports from Iran reached $129.7 million, marking a significant rise from $88.4 million in November 2023.

Earlier, it was reported that Pakistan rice exports increased by 35.40 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (2024-25) in comparison to the exports of the same period last year.

According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), more than 2.377 million metric tons of rice, including basmati rice and other types, were exported between July and November 2024, valued at $1.515 billion. This is in contrast to the 1.721 million metric tons that were exported during the same period last year, valued at $1.119 billion.

Exports of basmati rice increased by 34.64 percent in the final five months of the current fiscal year, totaling 370,282 metric tons of the commodity valued at $386.116 million, compared to 244,664 metric tons and $286.778 million during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the country earned $1.129 billion by exporting rice other than basmati in the last five months of the current financial year as compared to the exports of $832.523 million in the same period of the last year.

In comparison to the 1.476 million metric tons shipped during the same period previous year, more than 2.006 million metric tons of rice other than basmati rice were exported during the first five months of the current fiscal year.