ISLAMABAD, Sep 26 (ABC): The gold imports increased by 15.21 percent during the first two months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. The gold imports during July-August (2022-23) were recorded at $3.447 million as compared to the imports of $2.992 million during July-August (2021-22), according to the data. In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported 51 kilograms of gold during the months under review as compared to the imports of 52 kilograms last year, showing negative growth of 1.92 percent.
Meanwhile on year-on-year basis, the gold imports into the country witnessed an increase of 8.55 percent as these were recorded at $2.426 million in August 2022 against the imports of $2.325 million in August 2021. In terms of quantity, the imports of the commodity declined by 10.26 percent, from 39 kilograms in August 2021 to 35 kilograms in August 2022. Meanwhile, on month-on-month basis, the gold imports during August 2022 increased by 137.61 percent when compared to the imports of $1.021 million in July 2022.
In terms of quantity, the gold imports increased by 118.75 percent in August 2022 when compared to the imports of 16 kilogram registered in July. It is pertinent to mention here that overall merchandize imports into the country decreased by 9.25 percent during the first two months of the current fiscal year by going down from $12.152 billion last year to $11.028 billion in July-August (2022-23). Exports from the country witnessed an increase of 3.75 percent and were recorded at $4.759 billion against the exports of $4.587 billion last year. Based on the data, the trade deficit during the period under review was recorded at $6.269 billion, showing a decrease of 17.13 percent over the deficit of $7.565 billion recorded during last year, the PBS data revealed.