Exports up 27.4pc YoY in September: Razzak Dawood

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood announced on Monday that exports grew by 27.4% to $2.41 billion in September 2021 compared to $1.89 billion in September 2020,

In a series of tweets, he said that export figures for the first quarter of FY2021-22 were up by 28% to $6.99 billion as compared to $5.47 'million' (typo in tweet, should be billion) in Q1 of FY2020-21.

https://twitter.com/razak_dawood/status/1445004972547092485?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1445004972547092485%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geo.tv%2Flatest%2F373989-exports-grew-274-in-september-razak-dawood

In August 2021, exports grew by 43% to $2.257 billion compared to $1.584 billion in August 2020 even though there were shipment delays due to bad weather.

Trade gap

Last month Prime Minister Imran Khan had directed the concerned officials to take immediate measures to check the existing gap between imports and exports.

During the months of July and August,  Pakistan’s trade deficit surged to a worrying $7.337 billion in the current fiscal year (2021-22) as imports drastically outpaced exports.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had projected CAD to hover around 2-3% of GDP, equivalent to $6 billion to $9 billion for the current fiscal year. However, independent economists like Dr Hafiz Pasha see the CAD going up to $12-13 billion for the current fiscal year.