Trade deficit nearly drops by 19% in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) indicates that Pakistan’s trade deficit decreased by 18.60 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to $1.589 billion in November 2024, down from a deficit of $1.952 billion recorded in the same month of the previous year.

In November, exports rose by 8.98 per cent, reaching $2.804 billion, compared to $2.573 billion in November of the last fiscal year.

Conversely, imports fell by 2.92 per cent to $4.393 billion in November, compared to $4.525 billion during the same month of the previous fiscal year.

Five-Month Overview

During the first five months of the current fiscal year, the trade deficit narrowed by 7.39 per cent, totaling $8.651 billion, in contrast to $9.341 billion for the same period in the previous fiscal year.

Also read: Pakistan’s economy sees 2.52% growth in FY2024: PBS

Exports during this period increased by 12.57 percent, amounting to $13.691 billion, compared to $12.162 billion in the first five months of FY24 (July-November).

In terms of domestic imports, there was a rise of 3.90 percent, reaching $22.342 billion, compared to $21.503 billion during the same timeframe last year.

Month-on-Month Analysis

On a month-to-month basis, the trade deficit saw a slight increase of 0.19 percent, standing at $1.589 billion in November, compared to a deficit of $1.586 billion in October 2024.

Exports in November experienced a decline of 5.97 percent, totaling $2.804 billion, down from $2.982 billion in October 2024. Imports also decreased by 3.83 percent in November 2024, amounting to $4.393 billion compared to $4.568 billion in October 2024.