Pakistan’s petroleum stocks have drastically increased with the availability of petrol for 34 days and excess reserves of diesel for 66 days.
This was revealed by State Minister for Petroleum, Musadik Malik, during a press conference in Islamabad.
The minister informed the media that there was no risk of a shortage of petrol and diesel in the country, and it was the duty of the government to maintain the availability of these products. He ensured that there was a record improvement in the supply of petroleum products in the country.
He told the media that the government was focused on reducing the import bill and balancing the trade imbalance. In this regard, the government had devised a stricter policy for imports. In addition, the country has witnessed a reduction in fuel demand.
Consumption of petroleum goods has decreased by 9 percent from 778,000 tonnes in June 2021 to 702,000 tonnes in June 2022. Similarly, the consumption of diesel also declined by 8 percent during the same period, from 776,000 tonnes in June 2021 to 713,000 tonnes in June 2022.
During the first 20 days of July 2022, the consumption of petrol has already declined by 30 percent year on year (YoY) and is expected to be around 580,000 tonnes by the end of the month against 880,000 tonnes in July 2021. Similarly, the consumption of diesel has also seen a decline of 45-50 percent during the current month and the total consumption is likely to be around 400,000 tonnes compared to 720,000 tonnes in the previous fiscal year.
Yesterday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail also confirmed the record stock of petroleum products. He had blamed the previous government for subsidizing diesel by Rs. 70 per liter, which had led to higher demand and a greater import bill.
