Pakistan’s Trade Deficit Shrinks By 34% in First Half of FY24

Pakistan’s trade deficit contracted by 34 percent during the first half of the current fiscal year (1HFY24) compared to the corresponding period of last year (1HFY23), according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday. The trade deficit in July-December FY24 was recorded at $11.148 billion compared to the deficit of $16.965 billion in July-December FY23. The deficit decreased by 13 percent percent month-on-month and 40 percent year-on-year to $1.702 billion in December 2023, per PBS data. During the period under review, the exports increased by 5 percent to $14.981 billion compared to the exports of $14.244 billion during the corresponding period last year, according to the PBS data. Imports declined by 16 percent to $26.129 billion compared to $31.209 billion last year. On a year-on-year basis, exports increased by 22 percent in December compared to SPLY. Exports during the month were recorded at $2.812 billion compared to $2.301 billion in December 2022. Imports during December 2023 were recorded at $4.514 billion compared to $5.144 billion in December 2022, showing a decrease of 12 percent. On a month-on-month basis, exports improved by 9 percent compared to exports of $2.573 billion in November 2023. Imports went down by 1 percent when compared to imports of $4.539 billion in November 2023.