The monthly impact of the ban on the import of 38 non-essential luxury items under an emergency economic plan announced on Thursday will merely be $247 million.
The ban was prompted by the country’s rising import bill and growing current account deficit. The foreign exchange reserves held by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have plummeted in recent months and according to the latest weekly figures they currently stand at $10.16 billion, corresponding to an import cover of just 1.52 months.
According to official documents the ban on the import of the non-essential luxury items will have an impact of $247 million on the country’s import bill. On the contrary, according to a Reuters report, between March to June, Pakistan is expected to spend a whopping $2 billion on subsidies that have yet to be withdrawn.
The breakdown of the savings owing to the ban is given below:
| Sr # | Item | Monthly Impact (in million) |
| 1 | Automobiles (CBU) | $18.4 |
| Automobiles (CKD)* | $66.25 (50 percent) | |
| 2 | Mobile Phones (CBU) | $27.5 |
| Mobile Phones (CKD)* | $76.1 (50 percent) | |
| 3 | Home appliances | $5.12 |
| 4 | Fruits and dry fruits (except from Afghanistan) | $19.49 |
| 5 | Crockery | $3.98 |
| 6 | Private weapons and ammunition | $3.23 |
| 7 | Shoes | $2.85 |
| 8 | Chandeliers and lighting (except energy savers) | $2.57 |
| 9 | Headphones and loudspeakers | $2.26 |
| 10 | Sauces | $1.87 |
| 11 | Doors and window frames | $1.64 |
| 12 | Travelling bags and suitcases | $1.6 |
| 13 | Sanitary ware | $1.26 |
| 14 | Fish and frozen fish | $1.25 |
| 15 | Carpets (except from Afghanistan) | $1.17 |
| 16 | Preserved fruits | $1.14 |
| 17 | Tissue paper | $0.94 |
| 18 | Furniture | $0.81 |
| 19 | Shampoos | $0.76 |
| 20 | Confectionary | $0.58 |
| 21 | Luxury mattresses and sleeping bags | $0.16 |
| 22 | Jams and jelly | $0.46 |
| 23 | Cornflakes | $0.45 |
| 24 | Toiletries | $0.4 |
| 25 | Heaters, blowers | $0.38 |
| 26 | Sunglasses | $0.21 |
| 27 | Kitchen ware | $0.31 |
| 28 | Aerated water | $0.29 |
| 29 | Frozen meat | $0.28 |
| 30 | Juices | $0.25 |
| 31 | Pasta | $0.2 |
| 32 | Ice cream | $0.19 |
| 33 | Cigarettes | $0.16 |
| 34 | Shaving goods | $0.12 |
| 35 | Luxury leather apparel | $0.08 |
| 36 | Musical instruments | $0.07 |
| 37 | Salon items like hair dryers | $1.06 |
| 38 | Chocolates | $0.97 |
| Total | $246.81 | |
| *The imports of completely knocked down (CKD) cars and mobile phone kits would be allowed but by half of the last month’s imports | ||
The ban on the import of mobile phones and automobiles will provide a major chunk of monthly savings totaling $188.25 million. The ban on the imports of fruits and dry fruits will result in monthly savings of $19.49 million. The rest of the 35 items combined will save the country $114.92 million.
The ban on imports will also dent the revenue at the import stage by Rs. 35 billion.
