Pakistan's food exports rise by 1.62pc

Pakistan’s food exports in the first nine months of the current fiscal year (July 2024–March 2025) increased by 1.62 percent compared to the same period last year.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), food commodities worth $5.749 billion were exported, up from $5.658 billion. Notably, Basmati rice exports reached 663,980 metric tons, valued at $676.967 million, during this period.

The exports of fish and fish preparations grew by 8.15 per cent as 151,787 metric tons of above mentioned products worth of $332.906 million were exported as compared to the exports of 145,671 metric tons valued at $289.568 million of the same period of the last year.

In comparison to the 17.070 metric tons of tobacco worth $61.576 million that were shipped during the same period last year, about 37,212 metric tons of tobacco valued at $144.525 million were also exported during the period under consideration.

However, compared to the $6.290 billion imported during the same period last year, the country’s imports of food items fell 2.74 percent during the first nine months of the current fiscal year, totaling $6.118 billion.

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During the time under consideration, the imports of commodities, such as wheat, fell by 100%, tea by 5.45%, and imported sugar by 1.75 percent.

The imports of food goods into the country during the month of March 2025 decreased by 11.13 percent as compared to the same month of the last year as food goods valued at $736.860 million were imported as compared to imports of $829.163 million in the same month of the  last year.

On the other hand food group exports from the country during the month of March 2025 went down by 16.66 per cent as food commodities worth $576.177 million were exported as compared to the exports of $691.355 million of the same month of the last year.