ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit narrowed down by 24.94 percent in the first nine months (July-March) of the current fiscal year 2023-24 as it stood at $17.030 billion compared to $22.688 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 eight percent ($1.878 billion) to $22.914 billion during July-March 2023-24 compared to $21.036 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.

Imports declined by 8.65 per cent to $39.944 billion during the first nine months of the current fiscal year as compared with $43.724 billion in the same period of the last fiscal year.

Pakistan’s trade deficit narrows 30% to $14.9bn in 8MFY24

The trade deficit widened by 56.30 per cent on a year-on-year basis and stood at $2.171 billion in March 2024 compared to $1.389 billion during the same month of 2023.

The imports increased by 25.86 per cent on a YoY basis and remained $4.726 billion in March 2024 compared to $3.755 billion in March 2023. The exports increased by 7.99 per cent on a YoY basis and remained $2.555 billion in March 2024 compared to $2.366 billion in March 2023.

On a MoM basis, the trade deficit widened by 24.56 per cent to $2.171 billion in March 2024, as compared to $1.743 billion in February 2024. Exports recorded a 1.08 per cent decline to $2.555 billion in March 2024 when compared with $2.583 billion in February 2024.

Import increased by 9.25 per cent to $ 4.726 billion in March 2024 when compared with $ 4.326 billion in January 2024.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024