ISLAMABAD: According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, service exports increased 17.07 percent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year.
In absolute terms, the value of service exports increased to $5.15 billion between July and March 2021-22, up from $4.40 billion in the same period last year.
In March, service exports increased by 20.19 percent year on year to $668.29 million, up from $556.03 million the previous month. However, month over month, service exports climbed by 24.93 percent.
In FY21, exports of services climbed 9.19 percent to $5.937 billion, up from $5.437 billion the previous year.
The entire export result was boosted by the highest-ever rise in IT-related services. Finance and insurance, transportation and storage, wholesale and retail trade, public administration, and defense are all examples of services exports.
The commerce ministry has set a target of $7.5 billion in services exports for 2021-22.
The services sector has risen to become the primary driver of economic development, generating 61 percent of GDP in 2020-21, up from 56 percent in 2005-06.
Simultaneously, service imports increased by 31.33 percent to $8.33 billion in 2021-22, compared to $6.34 billion the previous year.
In March, service imports increased by 25.29 percent to $932.15 million, up from $744 million the previous month. It grew at a negative rate of 12.87 percent month over month.
Services imports declined 10.75 percent to $7.812 billion in FY21, down from $8.753 billion the year before.
In 9MFY22, the trade deficit in services climbed by 63.64 percent to $3.17 billion, up from $1.94 billion in 9MFY21.
The trade deficit increased by 40.37 percent in March, to $263.86 million, from $187.97 million the previous month.
