Pakistan, Aug. 7 -- Pakistan's food import bill soared to an all-time high of $8.14 billion in the fiscal year 2024-25, marking a 3% increase from the previous year's $7.90 billion. The surge was mainly driven by higher imports of palm oil, soybean oil, pulses, and dried fruits, according to official data. This rising import dependency comes despite global price drops in edible oils, highlighting the growing local demand and potential inefficiencies in pricing.

Palm oil imports jumped to 3.213 million tonnes, valued at $3.4 billion, breaking the previous record of $2.66 billion set in 2020-21. The average price per tonne also increased significantly from $927 last year to $1,056 this year. Meanwhile, soybean oil imports reached 321,107 t...