Pakistani exports and imports decreased by double digits in July, indicating a significant decrease from the previous month, citing statistics from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
According to PBS data, exports fell 12.7% in the first month of the new fiscal year, while the month-on-month reduction was 8.6%.
According to PBS data, imports decreased by 13.75% compared to the previous month and 26.4% compared to the same month a year ago.
According to the July 2023 trade report, goods exports totaled $2.057 billion, a decrease from $2.356 billion in June 2023 and $2.25 billion in July 2022. Meanwhile, goods imports were $3.66 billion in July 2023, down from $4.2 billion in June 2023 and $4.98 billion in July 2022.
This decrease in imports contributed to a 41.2% fall in the trade imbalance to $1.61 billion in July 2023, compared to $2.73 billion in July 2022.
The trade deficit in June 2023 was $1.86 billion.
The government’s move to restrict many luxury items in an effort to control the economy’s dollar shortfall contributed to the drop in imports.
During fiscal year 2022-23, the country’s trade deficit shrank by 43% to $27.55 billion, down from $48.35 billion the previous fiscal year. During the same time period, total exports fell by 12.7% to $27.7 billion, while imports fell by 31% to $55.3 billion.
The PBS also released data on the services trade performance for July-June 2022-23. During this time period, local businesses imported more services than they exported, according to trade data for international services.
The trade deficit in services shrank by 87.7%, reaching $719.4 million in FY23 compared to $5.84 billion in FY22.
In FY23, the economy spent $8.02 billion on hiring foreign enterprises and exported $7.3 billion in services.
In FY22, the country’s services exports were $7.1 billion, while imports were $12.9 billion, showing a 2.78% increase in exports and a 38% decrease in imports.
In June 2023, service exports totaled $571 million, while imports totaled $655 million, resulting in a $84 million deficit. Exports were $607 million in May 2022, imports were $903 million, and the deficit was $296 million.
In the month under review, service exports fell by 5.9% while imports fell by 27.5% compared to the previous month. When June 2023 services were compared to the same month the previous year, exports were down 14% and imports were down 50.7%.
In June 2022, service exports totaled $664 million, while imports totaled $1.328 billion, resulting in a $664.9 million deficit.
The services trade deficit was $84 million in June 2023, representing an 87.4% decrease from the previous year’s equivalent month.
