ISLAMABAD: According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Pakistan’s trade deficit decreased by 31.97 percent to $19.632 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year 2022-23, down from $28.859 billion in the same period last year.
According to trade data released by PBS on Thursday, the country’s exports during the months of July and January (2022-23) totaled $16.469 billion, compared to $17.739 billion in the months of July and January of 2021-22. This represents a decrease of 7.16%.
During the time under review, imports decreased by 22.53 percent, going from $46.598 billion last year to $36.101 billion this year.
In comparison to exports of $2.614 billion in January 2022, exports experienced a 15.42% year-over-year decrease to $2.211 billion in January 2023.
Imports also decreased to $4.856 billion in January 2023 from $6.036 billion in January 2022, showing negative growth of 19.55 percent. The July-Dec trade deficit decreases 32.65 percent to $17.13 billion YoY. In January 2023, the trade deficit decreased by 22.71 percent year-over-year to $2.645 billion, down from $3.422 billion in January 2022.
When compared to December 2022’s exports, which totaled $2.313 billion, January 2023’s exports decreased by 4.41 percent. According to the data, imports into the country decreased by 5.78 percent in January 2023 compared to imports of $5.154 billion in December 2022.
In January 2023, the trade deficit was $2.645 billion, down from $2.841 billion in December 2022, a decrease of 6.90 percent month-over-month.
The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) reports that the country’s textile group exports decreased by 12% in January 2023 to $1.36 billion from $1.55 billion during the same time last year.
According to the Association (APTMA)’s data on textile exports, in December 2022, the textile group exported $1.36 billion on a monthly basis.
In December 2022, exports totaled $1.36 billion, up from $1.42 billion in November. During the first seven months of the current fiscal year, textile exports decreased by 8% to $10.08 billion from $10.93 billion during the same time last year.