The tea imports witnessed an increase of 11.95pc during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The tea imports during July-March (2021-22) were recorded at $487.092m against the imports of $435.096m during July-March (2020-21), according to data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the tea imports increased by 2.49pc during the period under review as these went up from 194,961 metric tons last year to 199,807 metric tons during the current fiscal year, the data revealed. The overall food imports increased by 15.46pc from $6,121,358m last year to $7,067,740m during the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the tea imports increased by 13.36pc during the month of March 2022 as compared to the same month of last year. The tea imports during March 2022 were recorded at $63.234m against the imports of $55.782m in February 2021. On month-on-month basis, the tea imports however declined by 8.73pc in March 2022 as compared to the imports of $69.279m in February 2022, the data revealed. It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s overall merchandize imports during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year went up by 48.63pc by growing from $39.489bn last year to $58.691bn in July-March (2021-22). The exports also increased by 24.67pc and were recorded at $23.298bn this year against $18.687bn last year, according to PBS data. On year-on-year basis, the exports of the country increased by 15.91pc during March 2022 as compared to the exports of same month of last year. The exports during March 2022 were recorded at $2.740bn against the exports of $2.364bn in March 2021, the data revealed. The imports into the country increased from $5.631bn in March 2021 to $6.186bn in March 2022, showing growth of 9.86pc, according to PBS data.