The exports from Pakistan increased by 4.98 per cent during the first half (H1) of the current fiscal year (2020-21) as compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.
The exports from the country during July-December (2020-21) were recorded at $12.098 billion against the exports of $11.524 billion during July-December (2019-20), according to the latest PBS data. The imports into the country during the period under review also increased by 5.72 per cent by growing from $23.195 billion last year to $24.521 billion during the first half of current fiscal year.
Based on the figures, the country’s trade deficit increased by 6.44 per cent during the first half compared to the corresponding period of last year. The trade deficit during the first six months of the current fiscal year was recorded at $12.423 billion against the deficit of $11.671 billion last year.
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports from the country increased by 18.31 per cent during the month of December 2020 as compared to the exports of December 2019. The exports during December 2020 were recorded at $2.352 billion against the exports of $1.988 billion in December 2019, the data revealed.
The imports into the country also increased from $4.020 billion in December 2019 to $5.035 billion in December 2020, showing growth of 25.25 per cent. On month-on-month basis, the exports from the country increased by 8.19 per cent during December 2020 when compared to the exports of $2.174 billion in November 2020. Likewise the imports into the country also increased by 16.69 per cent in December 2020 when compared to the imports of $4.311 billion in November 2020, the data revealed.
Meanwhile, the country’s services exports during the first five months of the current fiscal year decreased by 5.53 per cent from $2.284 billion last year to $2.158 billion. Likewise, the services imports also declined by 18.37 per cent from $3.777 billion during first five months of last fiscal year to $3.083 billion during the corresponding period of current fiscal year.