Exports rise 6% to $1.87 billion in August

ISLAMABAD: The country’s exports rose by 6 per cent to US$1.872 billion during August as compared to the corresponding month last year, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood said on Friday.

Sharing latest data on exports on Twitter, he said: “The export figures for Sep 2020 have shown improvement. As compared to Sep 2019, our exports have grown 6% to USD 1.872 billion.”

“Although this is better than decrease of 15% in Aug 2020, I still feel that with sufficient backlog of orders we can do much better,” he added.

He urged exporters to try to win more orders from the existing markets and reach out to untapped markets besides fulfilling the current orders. “I am hopeful that in October 2020 we will have further growth.”

Last month, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) report said exports and imports in the country witnessed a decline in August this year. According to the PBS report, United States Dollar (USD) 1.58 billion exports was recorded during the month of August 2020, witnessing a decline by 15 percent as compared to the same month of the previous fiscal year.

The imports in the same month stood at US$3.27 billion, showing a 12 percent decline in August 2020 as compared to the corresponding year of the previous fiscal year.

The trade deficit also recorded a decline of nine percent in August this year and stood at US$1.69 billion.