Telecom, info services exports increase to $708.93mn in eight months

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports of telecommunication, computer and information services have increased to US$ 708.920 million, registering 2.15 per cent growth in first eight months of current fiscal year.

The earning made through these exports during the corresponding period of fiscal year 2017-18 was US$ 520.043 million, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

According to data issued by the PBS, the telecommunication services exports were recorded at $65.596 during the current year against $61.533 million last year, showing decline of 17.12 percent.

Among the telecommunication services exports, the exports of call center services increased by 6.6 percent.

The computer services exports have seen a growth of 11.73 per cent, rising from last year’s US$ 460.440 million to US$ 514.450 million. Among this sector, the software consultancy services grew from US$ 185.402 million to US$ 235.761 million, marking an increase of 27.16 per cent.

The maintenance and repair of computer services brought US$ 4.289 million, showing growth of 298.61 percent compared to the exports of US $ 0.918 million last year.

The services regarding import and export of computer software declined by 6.97 percent, as it was recorded at US$ 184.137 million from last year’s US$ 197.939 million.

Other computer services exports have been recorded at US$ 88.098 million, marking an increase of 21.36 per cent from last year.

Furthermore, the information services exports have witnessed increase by 74 per cent. These exports stood at US$ 1.74 million among which news agency services exports saw decrease of 21.85 per cent while the exports of other information services increased by 150.54 per cent.

On a year-on-year basis, the information, computer and information services exports witnessed a nominal increase of 0.02 per cent in February 2019, reaching US$ 80.960 million from US$ 80.940 million last year.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s services trade deficit narrowed by 36.54 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The services trade deficit during July-February (2018-19) was recorded at US$ 2.303 billion against the deficit of US$ 3.630 billion during July-February (2017-18), showing decline of 36.54 percent, official data revealed.

The services’ imports into the country during the period under review decreased by 19.54 percent to US$ 5.775 billion from US$ 7.178 billion last year, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

Compare to imports, the exports of services witnessed a marginal negative growth of 2.14 percent during the period.

The services exports during the first eight months of current fiscal year were recorded at US$ 3.472 billion against the exports of US$ 3.548 billion during the same period of last year.