Pakistan spends over $436m on tea imports in 8 months amid economic challenges

During the first eight months of the current financial year, Pakistan experienced a notable increase in tea imports, rising by 10.13% compared to the same period last year.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported that approximately 180,509 metric tonnes of tea valued at $436.677 million were imported from July to February 2023-24, indicating a significant uptick in consumption.

However, the country saw a decline in the imports of edible oils, including soybean and palm oil, with decreases of 48.10% and 32.47% respectively during the same period.

Despite these fluctuations, Pakistan's food group exports surged by 54.05%, reaching $4.969 billion, while imports of food commodities decreased by 18.33% to $5.461 billion.