Pakistan’s import bill surged sharply over the last six months, challenging official claims of export led growth and revealing a growing dependence on foreign goods across multiple sectors. Between July and December 2025, the country imported goods worth thirty four point five billion dollars, while exports remained limited to only fifteen billion dollars during the same period.
As a result, the trade deficit widened by more than thirty five percent, crossing nineteen billion dollars in just half a year. These figures clearly show that Pakistan is spending far more on buying goods from abroad than it earns by selling its own products to the world.
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Food imports played a major role in this imbalance, reaching four point six three billion dollars in six months with a yearly growth of over twenty one percent. Items such as sugar, milk, tea, spices, and cooking oils flooded the market, with imported tea alone costing Pakistan around ninety billion rupees.
Meanwhile, consumer electronics and machinery added further strain to the import bill, especially with smartphones worth nearly one billion dollars entering the country during the same period. In addition, mobile phone equipment, textile machinery, and transport vehicles like cars and trucks pushed industrial and transport imports to several billion dollars.
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Energy and raw material imports also continued to rise, as Pakistan spent eight billion dollars on petroleum and more than five billion dollars on agricultural inputs like fertilizers and chemicals. At the same time, metals including gold, steel, and aluminum crossed three billion dollars, while rubber, wood, and textile inputs added even more pressure.
On the export side, regional tensions have blocked key trade routes, especially with Afghanistan, while sales to China, Iran, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka have also declined. Therefore, analysts warn that without export diversification, stronger local production, and stable regional trade, Pakistan’s trade gap will keep growing.