In February 2025, Pakistan’s petroleum import bill stood at $1.45 billion, reflecting a 21 per cent rise compared to $1.2 billion in February 2024, according to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). However, the monthly import value of petroleum products dropped slightly, falling 1.8 per cent from January 2025’s figure of $1.57 billion.
Notably, Pakistan’s overall import bill in February 2025 reached $5 billion, marking a 15.05 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase. Despite this, imports saw a 7.7 per cent month-on-month (MoM) decline compared to January’s figure of $5.44 billion.
Between July 2024 and February 2025 (8MFY25), total imports rose by 11.4 per cent YoY to $38.3 billion, compared to $34.4 billion during the same period last fiscal year. Petroleum products accounted for 28.86 per cent of the total import bill in February 2025, and their cumulative value for 8MFY25 surged by 3.2 per cent to $10.3 billion.
Meanwhile, the food import bill recorded a 2.8 per cent YoY decrease, totalling $731.7 million in February 2025, compared to $752.5 million in February 2024. On a monthly basis, food imports dipped by 2.2 per cent from $747.8 million in January 2025.
This decline is largely attributed to a drop in palm oil imports, which fell 19 per cent MoM to $297.5 million in February 2025, though they surged 34.8 per cent YoY from $220.8 million in February 2024.
The food import bill for 8MFY25 slightly declined by 0.5 per cent YoY to $4.9 billion compared to $4.93 billion last year.
In the chemicals sector, the import of agricultural and other chemicals saw an 11.9 per cent MoM decrease in February 2025, amounting to $686.4 million. However, this figure represented a 4.3 per cent YoY increase. Cumulatively, imports of this group for 8MFY25 grew by 1.5 per cent YoY to $6.12 billion.
Machinery imports also showed mixed trends. In February 2025, machinery imports rose by 5.2 per cent YoY to $671.17 million compared to $637.98 million in February 2024. On a MoM basis, however, they dropped 8 per cent from January’s $729.6 million. Electrical machinery and apparatus imports decreased by 3.6 per cent YoY, while telecom equipment imports saw growth, rising 4.6 per cent YoY and 9.7 per cent MoM to $176.4 million.
The textile sector experienced significant growth, with imports rising by 81 per cent YoY to $543.4 million in February 2025, compared to $300.2 million in February 2024. Raw cotton imports, in particular, surged by 177.1 per cent YoY, reaching $239.47 million.
In the metal sector, the import bill rose by 13.3 per cent YoY to $469.4 million in February 2025. A notable contributor was the import of iron and steel, which totalled $224.4 million during the month.
Lastly, the transport sector saw an 11.7 per cent MoM increase in imports, with expenditure reaching $179 million in February 2025. This also represented a 37.9 per cent YoY rise in transport-related imports.
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