Pakistan’s trade deficit widens to $25 billion in July–February FY26

Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit expanded by 25 percent year-on-year to $25 billion during the first eight months of FY26, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

Imports during July–February rose 8.1 percent to $45.5 billion, while exports declined 7.3 percent to $20.46 billion, leaving the import bill more than double the country’s export earnings.

In February 2026, the monthly trade deficit increased 4.6 percent from a year earlier to $2.98 billion. Exports for the month fell 8.76 percent to $2.27 billion, while imports eased 1.6 percent to $5.25 billion.

On a month-on-month basis, exports dropped 25.6 percent from January’s $3.05 billion. Imports decreased 9.5 percent from $5.8 billion recorded in the previous month.

The services trade balance also remained in deficit. During July–January FY26, the services trade deficit widened 14 percent to $2.07 billion, compared with $1.82 billion in the same period last year.

Services exports during the period rose 18.78 percent to $5.66 billion, while services imports increased 17.5 percent to $7.7 billion.

In January alone, the services trade deficit grew 5.1 percent year-on-year to $304.8 million. Exports of services climbed 31 percent to $885 million, while imports reached $1.189 billion, up 23.3 percent.

In the previous fiscal year (FY25), the services trade deficit had narrowed 15.8 percent to $2.62 billion. That improvement was supported by a 9.2 percent increase in services exports to $8.4 billion and a 2 percent rise in imports to $11 billion.