Daily Times

KARACHI: Pakistan’s trade deficit in eleven months of outgoing fiscal widened to $33.88 billion from the $29.88 billion reported in corresponding period of last fiscal, official data showed on Monday.

The overall trade deficit widened by 13.40 percent in July-May period of Fiscal Year 2017-18 (FY18) as compared to the same period of FY17, reported the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The overall exports in eleven months of FY18 increased by 15.28 percent to $21.34 billion as compared to $ 18.51 billion worth of goods exported in corresponding period of previous fiscal year. Imports in eleven months of FY18 also increased significantly by 14.12 percent to $55.23 billion as against $ 48.39 billion in the same period of FY17. It is important to mention here that government had set the export target of $35 billion by June 2018 in the three-year Strategic Trade Policy Framework 2016-18.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in its quarterly review report that Pakistan’s exports staged a comeback with a growth of 11.0 percent in H1-FY18. The recovery was broad-based, with textiles (up 8.1 percent), food (17.0 percent), and manufactured items (11.3 percent) figuring prominently. The rising exports suggest that the easing of some structural barriers, such as energy supply and security situation, have finally started to benefit key exporting industries.

It further added that on the demand side, a synchronized upswing in the global economy is translating into consistently strong demand from traditional western markets. Pakistani exports, particularly of rice, made significant inroads into new markets in the OECD countries. On monthly basis, exports swelled by 0.52 percent from $2.13 billion in April 2018 to $2.14 billion in the May 2018. Similarly, imports in the country increased considerably by 13.80 percent to $5.81billion during the eleventh month of said fiscal year, as compared to $ 5.1 billion by the end of April 2018. Trade deficit widened by 23.32 percent to $3.67 billion in May 2018 as compared to $2.97 billion in Apri 2018.

On yearly basis, during May 2018, the country saw an increase in exports and imports as Pakistan exported $ 2.14 billion worth of goods to the world that was 32.35 percent higher than exports worth of $ 1.62 billion in the same month of previous fiscal year.

Similarly, imports registered 14.77 percent growth to $ 5.81 billion in the month of May 2018 as compared to $ 5.06 billion imports in corresponding month of FY17. As a result, country’s trade imbalance broadened by 6.50 percent in May 2018 to $3.6 billion, as against $3.4 billion in May 2017.

Published in Daily Times, June 12^th 2018.