# Basmati exports up 53pc in two months as Pakistan's food import bill stays flat Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/economy/basmati-exports-up-53pc-in-two-months-as-pakistans-food-import-bill-stays-flat) Type: News article Author: Searchable Editorial Published: 23 Sept 2026 Updated: 25 Sept 2026 Retrieved: 30 Sept 2026 > PBS data for July and August FY27: rice exports up 24.68pc, meat up 22.53pc, but fruit down 36.42pc and vegetables down 27.28pc. Basmati exports earned 53.03 per cent more in the first two months of FY27 than in the same two months last year, on 42.91 per cent more tonnage, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics figures for July and August 2026. That is the single strongest line in a food trade account that is finally moving the right way. Total food group exports rose 7.68 per cent year on year. Food imports rose 2.23 per cent, to $1.503 billion from $1.470 billion. Exports growing three times faster than imports in the same basket is what a rebound looks like. ## Where the money came from - Basmati rice: up 53.03pc in value, 42.91pc in quantity - Non-basmati rice: up 9.99pc in value, 14.74pc in quantity - All rice: up 24.68pc - Meat: up 22.53pc - Tobacco: up 121pc - Fish and fish preparations: up 3.23pc Basmati value rising faster than volume means the unit price went up too, which is the part that matters for a grower in Sheikhupura or Hafizabad. Volume growth alone can come from dumping stock at a discount. ## Where it went the other way - Vegetables: down 27.28pc - Fruits: down 36.42pc Fruit and vegetable exports falling by a quarter to a third in one year is not a small loss for Sindh and south Punjab growers. Last season's flooding and heat damage runs through both lines. ## The import side Food imports were held almost flat, but the mix shifted: - Powdered milk: up 20.41pc - Tea: up 28.74pc - Palm oil: down 1.41pc in value, down 13.40pc in quantity - Pulses: down 23.84pc - Soybean oil: down 99pc Palm oil quantity falling 13.40pc while value fell only 1.41pc tells you the world price went up. That feeds straight into the shelf price of ghee and cooking oil, which is one of the heaviest items in the household basket and part of why August CPI printed at 11.1pc (see our [inflation page](/data/cpi-yoy)). Tea up 28.74pc is the other reminder of how much of a routine Pakistani expense is imported and therefore priced off the rupee. At 277.13 to the dollar (our [USD to PKR page](/data/usd-pkr)), every rupee of depreciation lands on the tea, palm oil and milk powder bill. Our [currency converter](/tools/finance/currency-converter) runs the day's rate. ## What it means A stronger food export account and a flat import bill both push the same way on the current account, which is the number the IMF mission now in Islamabad will be looking at. Rice is doing the heavy lifting, and rice is weather exposed: one bad monsoon and the 53pc turns negative. For growers, the read is to watch the basmati export price rather than the headline tonnage. For households, the palm oil and tea lines are the ones that will show up at the kiryana shop. ## Frequently asked questions **How much did Pakistan's basmati rice exports grow in FY27 so far?** Basmati export earnings rose 53.03 per cent year on year in July and August 2026, on 42.91 per cent higher quantity, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. **What was Pakistan's food import bill in the first two months of FY27?** $1.503 billion, up 2.23 per cent from $1.470 billion in the same two months of FY26, with powdered milk up 20.41 per cent and tea up 28.74 per cent. ## Sources - Exports rebound as imports slow (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2031970/exports-rebound-as-imports-slow - Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, external trade statistics (Pakistan Bureau of Statistics): https://www.pbs.gov.pk/trade/ How to cite: "Basmati exports up 53pc in two months as Pakistan's food import bill stays flat", Searchable, 25 Sept 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/economy/basmati-exports-up-53pc-in-two-months-as-pakistans-food-import-bill-stays-flat