Machinery import breaches $7b mark
BY JAVED MAHMOOD
LAHORE - Setting a new precedent the import of machinery in 11 months of the current financial year has exceeded seven billion dollars mark.
From July 2005 to May 2006 the total import of machinery has expanded to 7.026 billion dollars, 1.823 billion dollars higher than 5.203 billion dollars import of machinery during the same period of last financial year.
In foreign exchange the import of machinery has improved by 35 per cent from July 2005 to May 2006 over the same period of last financial year.
In local currency the country has spent 420.44 billion rupees on the import of machinery during the said period.
Details obtained by The Nation showed that the machinery group continued to exhibit robust growth in its imports during ongoing financial year and it has consumed the highest amount of foreign exchange as compared to the other major traditional groups like petroleum, agriculture, metal and food group.
According to details, except textile, the imports of all the other major categories of machinery have shown a significant increase during the said period of this financial year.
In foreign exchange the power generating machinery import has increased by 26.30 per cent, vehicles import depicted 53 per cent increase, 33.7 per cent increase was recorded in the import of construction/mining machinery, electrical apparatus 39 per cent while 107 per cent growth was recorded in the import of agricultural machinery, implements in 11 months of this fiscal.
Within the machinery group, the power generating machinery import has consumed 450 million dollars, office machinery 255 million, construction/mining 173 million dollars, agricultural machinery/implements 127.57 million dollars while a hefty foreign exchange of 3.957 billion dollars was spent on the import of various types of machinery falling in the category of others.
The import of vehicles also set a new record as their imports increased to 1.435 billion dollars highest level in this fiscal as against 940 million dollars in last fiscal during July-May period.
However, textile machinery import showed 18 per cent decline and it fell to 712 million dollars from July 2005 to May 2006, from 866 million dollars in the corresponding period of previous fiscal year. In last three financial years the import of textile machinery continued to show a modest increase, but in 2005-06 the trend has reversed because of two major factors _ rising mark up rate and heavy investment in three years.