With regulatory measures to curb it virtually exhausted, the import of industrial raw materials/inputs is picking up, signalling the arrival of nascent economic recovery and widening the trade deficit. Wheat and sugar imports to meet domestic shortages or build strategic reserves are an added factor.
Once again imports, recorded at $5 billion last month, have begun to cater to the domestic demand with no notable progress in import substitution.
Instead, the duties on industrial raw materials are being gradually reduced. The prime minister’s advisor on commerce Abdul Razak Dawood says a study carried out by the ministry shows that when duties on raw materials decrease, industrial activities gain momentum and revenue collection also increases.