Pakistan’s exports grew by 8.42% during the first eight months of the fiscal year 2024-25, reaching $22.074 billion compared to $20.359 billion in the same period last year, according to provisional data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Imports during July–February also recorded an increase of 7.6%, amounting to $37.875 billion, up from $35.199 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Despite the overall growth, exports in February 2025 dropped by 15.59% month-on-month, totaling $2.491 billion compared to $2.951 billion in January. The February figures also marked a 3.56% decline from the $2.583 billion recorded in February 2024.
Meanwhile, imports in February fell by 8.52% from the previous month, reaching $4.810 billion compared to $5.258 billion in January. However, they were up 11.7% year-on-year, as imports in February 2024 stood at $4.306 billion.
The trade deficit for February 2025 was recorded at $2.319 billion, while the cumulative trade gap from July to February reached $15.801 billion.
Among the key export commodities in February, knitwear led with Rs102.09 billion, followed by readymade garments at Rs91.93 billion, bedwear at Rs69.71 billion, and rice (excluding basmati) at Rs56.03 billion. Other notable exports included cotton cloth, towels, basmati rice, made-up textile articles, vegetables, and cotton yarn.
On the import side, petroleum products topped the list at Rs130.37 billion, followed by petroleum crude at Rs123.82 billion and palm oil at Rs102.29 billion. Other major imports included electrical machinery, liquefied natural gas (LNG), iron and steel, plastic materials, mobile phones, raw cotton, and iron and steel scrap.
