Daily Times

The services trade deficit narrowed by 91.44 per cent as exports witnessed a growth of 1.46 per cent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

According to PBS data, the exports from the country during July-April (2022-23) were recorded at $6,009.87 million against the exports of $5,923.19 million in July-April (2021-22), showing growth of 1.46 per cent.

On the other hand, the services’ imports declined by 39.70 per cent from US$ 10,635.72 million last year to US$6,413.32 million during the period under review.

Based on the figures, the services trade deficit was recorded at US $403.45 million this year against a deficit of US $4,712.53 million during the last fiscal year, showing a decline of 91.44 per cent. On a year-on-year basis, the services exports during the month of April 2023 went down by 24.65 per cent to US$ 486.09 million against the exports of US $645.10 million during April 2022. On the other hand, the imports decreased by 38.85 per cent from US$1,090.83 million last April to US$ 667.04 million in April 2023, according to the data.

On a month-on-month basis, the services exports from the country decreased by 20.30 per cent as compared to the exports of US$ 609.88 million in March 2023.

The imports went up by 5.01 per cent as compared to the imports of US $635.20 million in March 2023, the data revealed.