ISLAMABAD: The export of cement from the country witnessed an increase of 30.89pc during the first ten months of the ongoing fiscal year, as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year.
The cement exports were recorded at $243.118 million during July-April 2018-19, as against the exports of $185.741 million during July-April 2017-18, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
On a year-on-year basis, the cement exports witnessed an increase of 14.19pc in April 2019, as they were recorded at $21.861 million, against the exports of $19.144 million in April 2018.
On a month-on-month basis, the export of cement increased by 42.03pc in April 2019, as compared to the export of $15.392 million in March 2018.
It is pertinent to mention that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 12.82pc during the first ten months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The trade deficit contracted by $3.867 billion to $26.302 billion during July-April 2018-19, as against the deficit of $30.169 billion recorded during July-April 2017-18.
The exports during the period under review witnessed a nominal decrease of 0.12pc, as it fell from $19.191 billion in the last year to $19.169 billion in the ongoing fiscal year.
On the other hand, the imports declined by 7.88pc to $45.471 billion during the period under review from $49.360 billion last year.
