Gold imports increased by 128.27 percent during the first half of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. The gold imports during July-December (2021-22) were recorded at $10.003 million as compared to the imports of $4.382 million during July-December (2020-21), according to the data. In terms of quantity, Pakistan imported 168 kilograms of gold during the period under review as compared to the imports of 72 kilograms last year, showing a positive growth of 128.27 percent. Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the gold imports witnessed an increase of 137.47 percent during the month of December 2021 as compared to the imports of the same month of last year. The gold imports during December 2021 were recorded at $1.166 million as compared to the imports of $0.491 million during last December. On a month-on-month basis, the gold imports during December 2021, however, decreased by 63.66 percent as compared to the imports of $3.209 million in November 2021. It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s total merchandise exports surged by 24.91 percent during the first five months of the `current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of the last year. The exports during July-December (2021-22) were recorded at $15.127 billion against the exports of $12.110 billion during July-December (2020-21).