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<strong>A steady depreciation of Pakistan&rsquo;s currency has led to an increase in the country&rsquo;s food import bill in the current financial year. In the beginning of July last year&mdash;the beginning of the Pakistani financial year, the country&rsquo;s currency was pegged at around 158 to the US dollar. The Pakistani rupee at present is valued at 175 to a dollar. At a time when global oil and commodity prices are rising, the depreciation of the rupee would surely add to the worries of the country&rsquo;s policymakers.</strong></p>
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And now with building geopolitical tensions over Ukraine, the pressure on the country&rsquo;s currency is likely to continue.</p>
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According to Pakistan based newspaper <a href="https://www.dawn.com/news/1670066">Dawn</a>, Islamabad&rsquo;s oil and food import bill rose 73 per cent to $14.97 billion in the July-December period compared to $8.67 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.</p>
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&ldquo;A steady increase in the import bill of these two sectors has widened the trade deficit and raised fears about the country&rsquo;s food security,&rdquo; the newspaper said.</p>
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Pakistan imports a large chunk of its total requirements of edible oil, including palm, soyabean and olive from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil among others.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/pakistan-takes-u-turn-on-afghanistan-isi-chief-now-meets-anti-taliban-warlords-in-turkey-150183.html">Pakistan takes U-turn on Afghanistan– ISI chief now meets anti-Taliban warlords in Turkey</a></strong></p>
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However, challenges have multiplied since agriculture land has been thinning in Pakistan with growing urbanization. <a href="https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/933363-can-t-eat-concrete">The News International</a> said that &ldquo;there is no doubt that this construction has its own benefits, but it causes the country&rsquo;s food production to drop drastically. This in turn leads to an exorbitant increase in the prices of food supplies.&rdquo;</p>
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Depreciation in the currency has also pushed inflation, which touched at 13 per cent in January. It also leads to a widening import bill.</p>
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&ldquo;The world is going through uncertainties and countries need to be watchful..risks have risen for almost the entire world but countries which are already facing a number of challenges on the economic front, will be the worst affected,&rdquo; an analyst said.</p>
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Meanwhile, Islamabad received a $1 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of the Extended Fund Facility, providing the much-required breather to Pakistan&rsquo;s Prime Minister Imran Khan. However, at the same time, inward remittances slowed down.&nbsp; In January Pakistan received remittances worth $ 2.1 billion, a fall from $2.5 billion in December, 2021. This is the lowest since August 2020, when the Covid 19 pandemic had just hit the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>
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