By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Imports fell by almost a quarter in July-November period of the current fiscal year of 2022-23 after a ban on non-essentials good, narrowing the trade gap by 30.14 percent to $14.4 billion, official data showed.
Imports in the July-November period shrank by 20.15 percent to $26.34 billion from $32.98 billion in the same period last year. Exports also fell by 3.5 percent to $11.93 billion against $12.36 billion in the same period last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Thursday.
In November 2022, Pakistan imported 33.6 percent fewer goods and sold 18.3 percent less products abroad.
Exports in November were down 18.34 percent to $2.37 billion, while imports dropped 33.6 percent to $5.245 billion.
During the month, the trade deficit was narrowed by 42.46 percent to $2.88 billion.
From July to October 2022, the services trade deficit slashed by 38 percent to $812 million. During the first four months, services exports increased by 3.97 percent to $2.26 billion and imports were down by 11.8 percent to $3.1 billion.
In October 2022, services exports increased by 1.14 percent to $559 million while imports slashed by 26 percent to $730 million against exports of $553 million and imports of $986 million in October 2021. The services traded deficit declined by 60.55 percent to $171 million in October 2022 against $433 million in Oct 2021.
Over the previous month, exports declined by 2.1 percent and imports by 1 percent. In the previous month (September 2022), Pakistan earned $571 million by selling its services abroad, while local firms hired services worth $737 million from overseas, recording a $166 million deficit.
Brokerage Insight Securities said soft commodity prices along with administrative controls will keep the imports at manageable levels in coming months.
“However, the slowdown in textile exports, on the back of higher inflation and muted demand in the USA and EU will put some pressure on the trade deficit. Furthermore, widening spread in the forex market has dented remittances inflow from formal channels, which will adversely affect the current account deficit,” it added.
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