Pakistan’s trade deficit slightly reduced to $3.6 billion during the first two months of the fiscal year 2024-25, primarily due to an increase in exports, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday.
The trade deficit, was recorded at $3.58 billion for July and August of 2024-25, compared to $3.74 billion in the same period the previous year.
Moreover, during the first two months of FY2025, Pakistan’s exports grew by 14% to $5.05 billion, up from $4.43 billion in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, imports rose by 5.67% to $8.63 billion in the same period, up from $8.17 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
PBS data indicates that Pakistan’s trade deficit significantly decreased by 20.54% year-on-year, dropping to $1.68 billion in August 2024 from $2.11 billion in August 2023. This improvement is attributed to vigorous growth in exports and a slight decline in imports.
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Additionally, exports in August 2024 increased by 15.93% to $2.74 billion, compared to $2.37 billion in August 2023. Conversely, imports decreased by 1.25% to $4.42 billion in August 2024 from $4.47 billion in the same month last year.
Furthermore, on a month-to-month basis, the trade deficit also declined by 12.03% to $1.68 billion in August 2024, down from $1.9 billion in July 2024. Exports increased by 18.9% to $2.74 billion from $2.31 billion in July, while imports slightly rose by 4.92% to $4.42 billion from $4.21 billion in the previous month.
