A considerable increase on import expenditure on personal vehicles was observed in April 2020 compared to the previous month, mainly due to the clearing of the backlog accumulated due to service disruptions with the spread of COVID-19 in the country, the Central Bank said in its latest report.

The expenditure on motor vehicle imports during April 2020 has been US$ 60.4 million, which is an increase of 26.9% when comparing against the US $47.6 million spent during April 2019.

The expenditure on motor vehicle imports during the first four months of 2020 has been US $ 216.8 million, which is a drop of 0.3% when comparing against the US $ 217.4 million spent during the first four months of 2019.

However, expenditure on merchandise imports declined notably, on a year on year basis, by 29.6% to US dollars 1,123 million in April 2020 mainly led by the significant declines in intermediate and investment goods.

The Central Bank further stated that measures taken by the government and the Central Bank during March and April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the suspension of facilitating the importation of selected goods contributed to the decline in import expenditure.