Exports rise for third month, trade gap narrows

By Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD: Exports rose for a third straight month in November, signaling a recovery in external demand while the trade deficit also narrowed as imports fell more than exports, official data showed on Friday.

Exports increased 7.66 percent from a year earlier to $2.57 billion, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said. That compares with a 13.55 percent gain in October and a 1.15 percent rise in September.

Imports dropped 13.5 percent to $4.46 billion, resulting in a trade gap of $1.89 billion, down 31.7 percent from a year ago.

The data underscores the pivotal role of export enhancement in addressing the nation’s financial challenges and external balances. Pakistan has been struggling with a chronic current account deficit that has drained its foreign exchange reserves and forced it to seek loans from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders.

Before the positive trajectory, monthly exports had consistently declined for a year, contracting in each subsequent month since October 2022. The worst slump was in April 2023, when exports plunged 26.2 percent.

The trade deficit shrank by 33.6 percent to $9.38 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year that began in July, compared with $14.12 billion in the same period a year earlier. Exports rose 1.93 percent to $12.17 billion, while imports fell 17.3 percent to $21.55 billion.

A rough estimate based on the last five months’ exports suggests the possibility of reaching nearly $29 billion in exports by the end of the fiscal year. Imports are anticipated to be around $52 billion.

In the fiscal year 2022-23, Pakistan’s trade deficit decreased by 43 percent to $27.55 billion from $48.35 billion in the previous year. Total exports dipped by 12.7 percent to $27.7 billion, while imports contracted by 31 percent to $55.3 billion.