May exports down 1.72 percent YoY

The country''s exports in May 2019 witnessed a decline of 1.72 percent against the exports of May 2018. Exports reduced from $2.14 billion to $2.10 billion, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said. According to provisional trade figures released by PBS Tuesday, over the same period the country''s imports also registered a negative growth of 12.8 percent from $5.7 billion to $5.04 billion.
Main commodities of exports during May 2019 were knitwear, Rs 39.9 billion, readymade garments, Rs 36.86 billion, bed wear, Rs 27.44 billion, cotton cloth, Rs 24.38 billion, rice others, Rs 20.5 billion, cotton yarn, Rs 15.55 billion, rice Basmati, Rs 12.02 billion, towels, Rs 10.6 billion, fish & fish preparations, Rs 8.5 billion, and made-up articles (excl. towels & bed wear), Rs 8.5 billion. According to PBS, over the year the Pakistan rupee exchange rate against US dollar has witnessed a decline of 26.21 percent as US dollar exchange rate against Pakistan rupee in May 2018 was (1$=Rs 115.446880) which in May 2019 reached (1$=Rs 145.692250). The country''s trade deficit over the period under review also registered a negative growth as it declined by 19.3 percent from $3.64 billion to $2.94 billion.
According to PBS, Pakistani exports during July-May 2018-19 as compared with July-May 2017-18 also witnessed a decline of 0.30 percent from $21.33 billion to $21.26 billion. While over the period Pakistani imports also dropped by 8.47 percent from $55.14 billion to $50.14 billion. The trade deficit over July-May 2018-19 against same period of the last year registered a decline of 13.6 percent from $33.8 billion to $29.2 billion.
Main commodities of imports during May 2019 were petroleum products, Rs 73.3 billion, aircraft, ships and boats, Rs 64.5 billion, petroleum crude, Rs 55.3 billion, natural liquefied gas, Rs 49 billion, plastic materials, Rs 31.4 billion, iron & steel, Rs 28.82 billion, palm oil, Rs 24.3 billion, electrical machinery and apparatus, Rs 21.73 billion, power generating machinery, Rs 21 billion, and iron and steel scrap, Rs 17.5 billion.
On month-on-month basis, the country''s exports witnessed a slight increase of 0.38 percent from $2.09 billion in April 2019 to $2.1 billion in May 2019. On the other hand, the imports also jumped up by 6.08 percent from $4.75 billion in April to $5.04 billion in May 2019, the data revealed.