The tea imports witnessed an increase of 8.17pc during the first eleven months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year. The tea imports during July-May (2021-22) were recorded at $580.911m against the imports of $537.010m during July-May (2020-21), according to data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the tea imports decreased by 2.04pc during the period under review as these went down from 238.941 metric tons last year to 234.062 metric tons during the current fiscal year, the data revealed. The overall food imports increased by 11.93pc from $7,550m last year to $8,450m during the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the tea imports declined by 1.05pc during the month of May 2022 as compared to the same month of last year. The tea imports during May 2022 were recorded at $48.519m against the imports of $49.033m in May 2021. On month-on-month basis, the tea imports however increased by 7.11pc in May 2022 as compared to the imports of $45.299m in April 2022, the data revealed. It is pertinent to mention here that during the first eleven months, the overall merchandize imports went up by 44.28pc by growing from $50.028b during July-May (2020-21) to $72.182b in July-May (2021-22). The exports also witnessed an increase of 27.78pc and were recorded at $28.848b during the period against the exports of $22.576b recorded last year. Based on the data, the overall trade deficit during the period under review was recorded at $43.334b , showing an increase of 57.85pc over the deficit of $27.452b recorded during last year, the PBS data revealed.