WEB DESK: Pakistan’s trade deficit shrank by more than 12% to $24.09 billion during the July-June period of fiscal year 2023-24, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday. The reduction was attributed to a notable increase in exports and a slight decrease in imports compared to the previous year.
In fiscal year 2023-24, exports surged by 10.54% to $30.65 billion from $27.72 billion in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, imports saw a marginal decline of 0.84%, totalling $54.73 billion compared to $55.19 billion in fiscal year 2022-23.
However, the trade deficit widened by 30.39% year-on-year in June 2024, reaching $2.39 billion, up from $1.83 billion in June 2023. This increase was driven by a notable rise in imports, which grew by 17.43% to $4.92 billion, while exports increased by 7.3% to $2.53 billion during the same month.
On a month-on-month basis, the trade deficit rose by 15.13% in June 2024 compared to May 2024, with exports declining by 10.92% and imports remaining relatively stable, increasing by 0.08%.
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Overall, while Pakistan’s exports showed significant improvement over the fiscal year, the monthly data reflected a challenging trend with declining exports and a notable increase in imports, contributing to a larger trade deficit in June 2024.
