Food exports increase 18.88%, import decreases 32% in firs quarter of FY 2023-24.

ISLAMABAD -- The country's food group exports during the first quarter of the financial year 2023-24 increased by 18.88 percent compared to the exports of the corresponding period of the previous year.

From July to September 2023, food commodities worth $1.280 billion were exported, compared to $1.077 billion in the same period last year, according to the data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

During the period under review, rice exports grew by 0.98 percent, with 595,557 metric tons of rice valued at $406.387 million being exported. Besides the exports of fish and fish preparations increased by 3.75 percent, with 37,803 metric tons of the aforementioned commodity, costing $83.064 million, being exported.

Meanwhile, the country earned $88.668 million by exporting approximately 155,776 metric tons of fruits, compared to the exports of 105,950 metric tons of fruits valued at $78.867 million during the same period last year.

In the first quarter of the current financial year, over 96 metric tons of leguminous vegetables (pulses) valued at $84,000 were also exported, as...