AVN Report
ISLAMABAD: In a remarkable achievement, Pakistan has brought down its trade deficit for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023-24 (July-Sept) to $5.289 billion, with a massive reduction of 42.25 percent, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
This figure stands in stark contrast to the $9.159bn trade deficit recorded during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
According to the monthly data released by the bureau, Pakistan’s exports experienced a slight dip of 3.78 percent, amounting to $6.899bn during July-September 2023-24, compared to $7.170bn in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.
Meanwhile, imports witnessed a substantial decline of 25.36 percent, totaling $12.188bn during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, as opposed to $16.329bn in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
Analyzing the month-on-month trends, the trade deficit further narrowed by 31.13 percent, reaching $1.489bn in September 2023, in contrast to $2.162bn in August 2023. Exports showed promise with a 4.18 percent increase, reaching $2.465bn in September 2023 compared to $2.366bn in August 2023. Imports declined by 12.68 percent, amounting to $3.954bn in September 2023, compared to $4.528bn in August 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, the trade deficit exhibited an even more substantial reduction of 47.86 percent, standing at $1.489bn in September compared to $2.856bn during the same month of the previous fiscal year. Imports decreased by 25.30 percent year-on-year, remaining at $3.954bn in September 2023 compared to $5.293bn in September 2022. Meanwhile, exports increased by 1.15 percent year-on-year, reaching $2.465bn in September 2023 compared to $2.437bn in September 2022.
