Pakistan’s trade deficit shrinks by 32.7% in seven months

Pakistan has witnessed a significant improvement in its trade balance as the gap between exports and imports narrowed down by 32.7% in the first seven months (July-Jan) of the current fiscal year 2023-24.

According to the revised data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the trade deficit stood at $13.160 billion during July-January 2023-24, compared to $19.553 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

The reduction in the trade deficit was mainly driven by a 14.14% decline in imports, which amounted to $30.938 billion during the period under review, as compared with $36.034 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

On the other hand, exports increased by 7.87% to $17.778 billion during July-January 2023-24, compared to $16.481 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

The PBS attributed the increase in exports to the growth of textile and apparel, manufacturing and engineering, and agri and food sectors, which recorded an increase of 8%, 19.8%, and 82.8% respectively during the first 15 days of February on a year-on-year basis.

The trade deficit also narrowed on a monthly and yearly basis, as the PBS reported a 8.26% increase in the trade deficit in January 2024 compared to December 2023, and a 23.56% decrease in the trade deficit in January 2024 compared to January 2023.