Pakistan’s trade deficit marginally reduced to $3.6 billion during the first two months of fiscal year 2024-25 (2MFY25), driven by a notable increase in exports, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday.
The trade deficit, representing the gap between exports and imports, stood at $3.58 billion for the July-August period of FY25, slightly down from $3.74 billion during the same period last year.
During 2MFY25, Pakistan’s exports saw a 14% rise, reaching $5.05 billion, compared to $4.43 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. On the other hand, imports grew by 5.67% to $8.63 billion, up from $8.17 billion in 2MFY24.
Monthly Breakdown
PBS data also revealed that the trade deficit for August 2024 decreased by 20.54% year-on-year, falling to $1.68 billion from $2.11 billion in August 2023. This reduction was supported by robust export growth and a slight decline in imports.
Exports in August 2024 increased by 15.93% to $2.74 billion, up from $2.37 billion in the same month last year. Conversely, imports dipped by 1.25% to $4.42 billion, down from $4.47 billion in August 2023.
On a month-to-month basis, the trade deficit also saw a significant drop of 12.03%, decreasing from $1.9 billion in July 2024 to $1.68 billion in August 2024. Exports surged by 18.9% to $2.74 billion, compared to $2.31 billion in July, while imports slightly increased by 4.92% to $4.42 billion from $4.21 billion the previous month.
