ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit narrowed down by 32.66 per cent in the first seven months (July-January) of the current fiscal year 2023-24 as it stood at $13.167 billion compared to $19.553 billion during the same period of last fiscal year, says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The monthly data released by the bureau noted that the country’s exports increased by 7.89 per cent ($1.301 billion) to $17.782 billion during July-January 2023-24 compared to $16.481 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

Imports declined by 14.11 per cent to $30.949 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year as compared with $36.034 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

However, on a month-on-month basis the trade deficit widened by 6.51percent to $1.947 billion in January 2024, as compared to $1.828 billion in December 2023. Exports recorded a 1.13 per cent decline to $2.790 billion in January 2024 when compared with $2.822 billion in December 2023. Import increased by 1.87 per cent to $4.737 billion in January 2023 when compared with $4.650 billion in December 2023.

The trade deficit narrowed by 24.80 per cent on a year-on-year basis and stood at $1.947 billion in January 2024 compared to $2.589 billion during the same month of 2023.

The imports decreased by 1.84 per cent on a YoY basis and remained $4.737 billion in January 2023 compared to $4.826 billion in January 2023. The exports increased by 24.72 per cent on a YoY basis and remained $2.790 billion in January 2024 compared to $2.237 billion in January 2023.

However, the Commerce Ministry on Thursday released trade data which contradicts PBS data.

It said that the exports in January 2024 increased by 26.9 percent to $2.786 billion from $2.195 billion in January 2023. It further stated that imports during the same period decreased by 4.5 per cent to $4.665 billion from $4.884 billion. The trade deficit narrowed to $1.879 billion in January 2024 from $2.689 billion in January 2023. Exports totalled $17.766 billion, up 12 per cent from $15.831 billion during the same period in the previous financial year.

Imports contracted by16 per cent to $30.010 billion as compared to $35.836 billion in the same period in the last financial year. The overall trade deficit has decreased by 39 per cent to $12.244 billion as compared to $20.005 in the previous year. In absolute terms, during July-January 2024, exports increased by almost $2 billion, imports decreased by about $6 billion, while the trade deficit contracted by $7.8 billion, the ministry added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024