Services sector posts $ three billion trade deficit in nine months

The country''s services sector registered trade deficit of some 3 billion dollar in the first nine months of current fiscal year mainly due to high payments of transportation, travel and financial services. However, trade performance of overall services sector showed sign of improvement as imports and deficit declined during the period under review, while exports showed gradual increase.
Economists say heavy payments of transportation, travel services, insurance, technical fee, royalties and government sector are the major contributors in the large trade deficit of services sector. However, they said, rising trend in services export and decline in the imports would further reduce the services sector deficit. Country''s service sector deficit was 2.954 billion dollar during the first nine months of the current fiscal year 2009, as overall services exports stood at 2.633 billion dollar against the imports of some 5.587 billion dollar during the July-March of current fiscal year.
However, the services sector deficit in July-March is the some 38 percent less than the same period of last fiscal year 2008, as services sector deficit was stood at 4.782 billion-dollar in the first nine months of fiscal year 2008.
Overall exports of services sector has performed well, registering a growth of 10 per cent, while imports showed a decline of 22 per cent during the July-March of current fiscal year. Services sector exports has reached 2.633 billion dollar in first nine months of current fiscal year as compared to 2.384 billion dollar in corresponding period of fiscal year 2008, depicting an increase of 249 million dollar.
While imports of services sector has registered a decline of 1.579 billion dollar to 5.587 billion dollar during July-March 2009 as against imports of 7.166 billion dollar during the same period of last fiscal year.
High imports are largely due to high imports of transportation sector, which stood at 2.689 billion dollar against the exports of 901 million dollar during the first nine months. Meanwhile, services deficit in March 2009 stood at 236 million dollar with 487 million dollar imports and 251 million dollar exports. Country has earned some 901 million dollar on account of transportation services, 166 million dollar from travel, some 78 million dollar from communication sector, 43 million dollar from insurance and some 56 million dollar from financial sector during the July-March of fiscal year 2009.
On the other hand payments of travel stood at 865 million dollar, communication 106 million dollar, construction 54 million dollar, insurance 101 million dollar, financial services143 million dollar and computer and information services payment reached 83 million dollar during the period. Similarly, royalties and license fee payments mounted 73 million dollar, government services 236 million dollar and other business services imports stood at 1.23 billion dollar.