Food imports rise 8.12pc to $805.5m in July

Food imports rose 8.12 per cent in July 2026 from a year earlier, reaching $805.48 million, according to Dawn's report on Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. Edible oil purchases accounted for most of the gain in the first month of FY27. In FY26 as a whole, the food import bill had climbed 11.66pc to $9.150 billion.

Raw food exports, by contrast, edged up just over 2pc in July, ending the decline seen in the previous fiscal year. Rice shipments led the rise, with overall rice exports up 19.15pc and basmati alone climbing 37.37pc. Tobacco and meat exports also grew, while fruit and vegetable shipments fell sharply.

Palm oil was the largest imported food item, and its import value rose 18.60pc. The Ministry of Commerce extended the rice export subsidy scheme by three months to Sept 30 and raised a duty drawback rate for non-basmati rice. Raw food exports had fallen 29.49pc to $5.017 billion across FY26, the report added.