Record food imports, skyrocketing prices hit masses

Pakistan’s food import bill rose to a record $8.14bn in FY25, up 3pc from $7.90bn in FY24, as imports of palm oil, soybean oil, pulses and dry fruits reached all-time highs, driven by rising demand and population growth. According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data, palm oil imports surged to a new peak of 3.213 million tonnes ($3.4bn) in FY25, surpassing the previous record of 3.197m tonnes ($2.66bn) in FY21. The average per-tonne price rose to $1,056 in FY25 from $927 in FY24. Soybean oil imports also hit a new high at 321,107 tonnes ($344m) in FY25, compared to 119,845 tonnes ($129m) in FY24 and the previous record of 227,388 tonnes ($315m) in FY23. However, the average price per tonne dipped slightly to $1,070 from $1,081.