The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s Businessmen Panel (BMP) Chairman Mian Anjum Nisar, terming the ban on import of luxury items as necessary, stressed the need for also taking serious measures to control burgeoning food import bill to help boost the country’s faltering economy, as Pakistan’s oil and eatable import bill has surged by almost 60% to near $25 billion in the 10 months of the current fiscal year.
The FPCCI former president said that the rising food imports and the resultant trade deficit should also be taken care by the authorities, as the country has spent over $8 billion on the import of edible items in the last fiscal year.
To bridge the food production gap, the food import bill surged by more than 12.30% to $8 billion in 10MFY22 from $7 billion in the same period last year. The import bill might go up further in the coming months because the government continued to allow importing wheat and sugar to build strategic reserves.
The BMP Chairman observed that the economic managers will have to chalk out a long-term plan for import substitution and increasing exports so that Pakistan could become self-reliant.
