ISLAMABAD: The export of spices from the country witnessed an increase of 4.55 percent during the first half of financial year 2020-21, against the export of the corresponding period of last year.

Pakistan exported spices of worth $ 41.071 million during July-December (2020-21) against the exports of $ 39.284 million during July-December (2019-20), according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the export of spices also rose by 7.34 percent by going up from 10,231 metric tons to 10,982 metric tons, according to the data.

Meanwhile, on year-to-year basis, the export of spices also increased by 27.61 percent during the month of December 2020 when compared to the same month of last year.

The export of spices from the country during December 2020 were recorded at $9.714 million against the export of $7.612 million in December 2019. On month-on-month basis, the export of spices rose by 96.64 percent during December 2020 when compared to the export of $4.940 million in November 2020, the PBS data revealed.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall merchandise trade deficit increased by 5.93 percent during the first six months of current fiscal year (2020-21) as compared to the deficit of the corresponding period of last year.

The deficit during July-December (2020-21) was recorded at US $12.363 billion as compared to the deficit of $11.671 billion, showing increase 5.93 percent.

During the period under review, the country s exports registered growth of 5.09 percent, by going up from US $11.524 billion last year to $12.110 billion during the current year.