Pakistan's trade deficit shrinks 33.5% as exports witness 1.9% growth

• Trade deficit down to $9.3bn against previous year's $14bn.
• Exports reach $12.17bn as compared to last year's $11.9bn.
• Imports shrink to $21.5bn from $26bn after 17.3% decrease 

As Pakistan scrambles to stabilise a depreciating rupee and depleting foreign exchange reserves, the latest data by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has offered some hope showing a 33.59% decrease in trade deficit and a 1.93% growth in exports.

The country's trade deficit in the last five months from July to November (FY2023-24) was recorded at $9.3 billion as compared to the $14.12 billion trade deficit for the same period July to November (FY22-23).

Furthermore, during the period, the country's exports were recorded at $12.17 billion against the $11.9 billion exports during the corresponding period of last year.

Meanwhile, imports went down to $21.5 billion after a 17.3% decrease as compared to $26 billion recorded last year.

On a year-on-year basis, the exports from the country increased by 7.66% in November compared to the exports of the same month of last year.

The exports during the month were recorded at $2.57 billion against the exports of $2.38 billion in November 2022.

On the other hand, the imports during November 2023 were recorded at $4.46 billion compared to the imports of $5.15 billion in November 2022, showing a decrease of 13.47%.

On a month-on-month basis, the exports from the country decreased by 4.39 % when compared to the exports of $2.69 billion during October 2023.

The imports into the country went down by 8.31% when compared to the imports of $4.864 billion in October 2023.

Meanwhile, the services exports during July-October (2023-24) earned foreign exchange worth $2.4 billion as compared to exports of $2.33 billion during the same period of last year, showing growth of 3.34%.

The services' imports into the country also increased by 19.57% going up from $2.7 billion last year to $3.2 billion during the first four months of the current fiscal year.

Based on the figures, the services trade deficit increased by 116.66% during the period under review going up from $390 million last year to $847 million this year.