Pakistanis consume $234m of imported tea in five months

ISLAMABAD: The country’s love for tea was exemplified by the latest statistics, which showed the consumption of imported tea increasing by 26.72 per cent as Pakistanis consumed tea worth $233.632 million during the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year.

The consumption of imported tea was recorded at $184.365 million during the same period of last year (July-November 2019-20), according to the latest figures issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, tea imports into the country increased by 36 per cent during the period under review as these grew from 78,771 metric tons to 107,252 metric tons, the data revealed.

The overall food imports into the country increased by 44.53 per cent from $2,088.96 million last year to $3019.07 million during the current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, tea imports into the country increased by 5.98 per cent during the month of November compared to the same month of last year. Tea imports during November 2020 were recorded at $44.293 million against the imports of $41.794 million last year.

However, on a month-on-month basis, tea imports into the country decreased by 6.51 per cent in November 2020 when compared to the imports of $47.377 million in October 2020, the data revealed.