Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shows that imports of agricultural and other chemicals in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (2022-23) decreased by 35.45 percent compared to the same period last year.
The total value of imported agricultural and other chemicals between July and January was $5.826 billion, down from $9.025 billion in the previous year.
Of note, the imports of fertilizer in the same period decreased by 12.19 percent, with 772,167 metric tons worth $507.870 million imported to meet local demand compared to 996,528 metric tons worth $578.362 million in the previous year.
Meanwhile, imports of medicinal products decreased significantly during the seven-month period, with 21,286 metric tons worth $838.580 million imported compared to 36,171 metric tons worth $3.397 billion in the same period last year. This represents a decrease of 75.32 percent in the imports of medicinal products compared to the previous year.
On the other hand, imports of insecticides increased by 11.15 percent, with 22,212 metric tons worth $114.522 million imported compared to 19,154 metric tons worth $103.034 million in the same period last year.
Additionally, other agricultural chemicals worth $2.873 billion were imported during the first seven months of the fiscal year 2022-23 to meet local requirements, a decrease of 10.40 percent compared to the same period last year when imports were worth $3.206 billion.
