According to the provisional figures compiled and released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) here on Wednesday, exports in March 2006 increased by 19.33 percent to $1.521 billion as compared to $1.273 billion in February 2006 and by 12.94 percent as compared to $1.347 billion in March 2005.
Exports during March 2006 amounted to Rs 91.279 billion as against Rs 76.337 billion in February 2006 and Rs 79.938 billion during March 2005, showing an increase of 19.97 percent over February 2006 and of 14.19 percent over March 2005.
The exports during July-March amounted to Rs 721.799 billion as against Rs 603.548 billion during the corresponding period of the last year, showing an increase of 19.59 percent.
Main commodities of exports during March 2006 were cotton cloth (Rs 10,987 million), Bedwear (Rs 9,425 million), cotton yarn (Rs 8,465 million), Knitwear (Rs 8,324 million), readymade garments (Rs 6,962 million), petroleum products (Rs 4,836 million), rice basmati (Rs 4,092 million), towels (Rs 3,212 million), rice others (Rs 2,938 million), and leather garments (Rs 2,320 million).
Imports during July-March 2006 amounted to $20.693 billion against $14.446 billion during the corresponding period of the last year, showing an increase of 43.24 percent.
Imports into Pakistan during March 2006 amounted to Rs 161.134 billion as against Rs 132.376 billion in February 2006 and Rs 126.729 billion during March 2005, showing an increase of 21.72 percent over February 2006 and of 27.15 percent over March 2005.In March 2006, imports increased by 21.48 percent to $2.685 billion as compared to $2.211 billion in February 2006 and by 25.76 percent as compared to $2.136 billion in March 2005.
Imports during July-March 2005-06 amounted to Rs 1.237 trillion as against Rs 856.827 billion during the corresponding period of the last year, showing an increase of 44.40 percent.
Main commodities of imports during March 2006 were petroleum crude (Rs 19,195 million), petroleum products (Rs 17,031 million), road motor vehicles (Rs 9,762 million), iron and steel (Rs 8,241 million), plastic materials (Rs 4,711 million), textile machinery (Rs 4,143 million), palm oil (Rs 3,597 million), power generating machinery (Rs 3,034 million), sugar (Rs 3,027 million) and electrical machinery and apparatus (Rs 2,365 million).
The balance of trade during July-March was (-) 515.444 million in terms of rupees and (-) 8.620 billion in terms of dollars, while in March 2006 it was (-) 69.855 billion in terms of rupees and (-) 1.164 billion in terms of dollars.