Sugar, wheat cotton behind import bill hike

MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Invest-ment, Abdul Razak Dawood has said that the main reason for increase in import bill is import of sugar and wheat.

"Import bill this year also increased because we had to import wheat and sugar to stabilise the market prices," he said in a tweet. He added that cotton was also imported to help the export-orientated industry so that exports are not hampered. According to provisional data, imports during July-Feb 2020-21 increased by $ 2.085 billion from $ 31.515 billion to $ 33.600 billion, posting a growth of 6 percent. The Commerce Ministry has conducted a preliminary analysis of increase in imports which shows that ‘Make in Pakistan’ policy of the MoC in delivering dividends and industrial activity in the country is increasing. During July-Feb 2021, the import of wheat amounted to $909 million, sugar $ 126 million and cotton $913 million (total $ 1.948 billion).