19.5pc Surge In Trade deficit Of Pakistan

The trade deficit of Pakistan has surged by 19.49 percent, raising it to 2.391 Billion Dollars this September, according to data released on Monday by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Last year in September, it was 2.001 billion dollars.

The government managed the external accounts somehow as, since the last fiscal year, a gradual decrease in imports took place.

Although according to statistics in the PBS report, imports have increased by double digits in September, which resulted in the widening of trade deficit of 2.02 percent, increasing $5.689bn to $5.804bn.

In the fiscal year 2020, the trade deficit went down to $23.099 billion from $31.82 billion.

The government's decision to permit wheat and sugars import will further widen the trade deficit. The government recently allowed these commodities import to fulfill domestic demand.

After removal of duty on import of raw material and semi-finished products in the budget, their import has also increased.

However, compared to last year’s September, the imports have seen a growth of 13.22 percent. And exports in Jul-Sept went down by 0.94 percent.

At the start of the Fiscal year 2020, exports were growing by 5.8 percent however they fell down by 19 percent in August. A big decline in exports was also observed during the lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic spread through Pakistan.