By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s merchandise exports posted a robust recovery in the first month of the current fiscal year, rising 16.91% in July 2025, a sharp turnaround from the negative growth recorded in prior months, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday.
In absolute terms, export proceeds climbed to $2.69 billion in July 2025, up from $2.31 billion in the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis, exports grew by 8.88%, a stark contrast to the 0.59% decline in June 2025, and steeper drops of 10.07% in May and 7.36% in April.
For the 12 months of fiscal year 2025 (July 2024-June 2025), export proceeds reached $32.106 billion, reflecting a 4.67% increase from $30.675 billion during the same period the previous year. However, export growth had been faltering earlier in the fiscal year, slipping to single digits in October 2024 and turning negative with a 5.57% decline in February 2025, followed by further contractions of 7.36% in April and 10.07% in May.
A modest uptick of 3.08% in March offered a brief respite, but the trend reverted to negative growth in subsequent months. The rebound in July signals an upward trend in demand for Pakistan’s exports, bolstered by global buyers shifting clothing orders from Bangladesh and China to Pakistan.
This shift has opened opportunities for local exporters to secure a larger slice of the international market. Despite the export gains, Pakistan’s trade deficit widened as imports surged by 29.25% to $5.45 billion in July 2025, up from $4.22 billion in the same month last year.
On a month-on-month basis, imports rose by 12.37% in July, outpacing the export growth and highlighting persistent pressure on the country’s trade balance.
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