ISLAMABAD: The country’s trade surplus with Afghanistan jumped 44pc in January 2019 as the value of surplus rose to $127.819 million in the month under review from a surplus of $88.749 million recorded in January last year.
The trade surplus during the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year (FY19), however, decreased by 23.7pc as it fell from $757.326 million in July-January FY18 to $577.624 million, according to latest data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
The export of goods to Afghanistan increased by 33.61pc in January 2019 as compared to the same month a year ago, as it rose to $141.414 million in January this year from $105.836 million in January 2018.
On a month-on-month basis, the exports to Afghanistan increased by 90pc in January 2019 as compared to exports of $74.193 million recorded in December 2018.
On average, the exports to Afghanistan witnessed a decline of 19.96pc ($676.335 million) during July-January FY19 as compared to the same period of FY18 ($845.068 million).
Similarly, the import of goods from Afghanistan during the first seven months of FY19 increased by 12.5pc as it rose to $98.711 million from $87.942 million recorded during the same period of FY18.
On yearly basis, the imports from the country declined by 20.4pc from $17.087 million in January 2018 to $13.595 million during the same month of FY19. On monthly basis, the imports increased by 32.8pc in January 2019 as compared to $10.231 million in December 2018.
