31/01/2013 (Daily Times) - Palm oil imports witnessed sharp decline of 18.92 percent during the first half of the current fiscal year as against the same period of last year.

Pakistan imported palm oil worth $1.024 billion during July-December 2012-13 against the imports of $1.263 billion in July-November 2011-12, according to the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the palm oil imports witnessed negative growth of 6.58 percent by falling from imports of 1,205,182 metric tonnes last year to 1,032,473 metric tonnes during the period under review.

In rupees term the palm oil imports during July-November 2012-13 stood at Rs 97,562 million against the imports of 110,182 during the same period of last year, showing negative growth of 11.45 percent. During December 2012, the palm oil imports witnessed decrease of 29.44 percent and 6.38 percent against the imports December 2011 and November 2012 respectively, the data revealed.

On the other hand the imports of soyabean oil witnessed increase of 26.47 percent during the first six months of the current fiscal year. The soyabean imports were recorded at $44.241 million in July-December 2012-13 against the imports of $34.981 million during the same period of last year, the PBS data revealed. In terms of quantity, the soyabean oil imports increased from 26,625 metric tonnes to 34,381 metric tonnes, witnessing increase of 29.13 percent. app