Trade Deficit Spikes By Over 20% in September 2024

Pakistan’s trade deficit increased by over 20 percent in September 2024 to settle at $1.8 billion. According to data issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country’s trade deficit jumped by 20.4 percent in September 2024 from a trade deficit of $1.47 billion reported in September 2023. On a monthly basis, trade deficit widened by 1.89 percent and stood at $1.780 billion in September compared to a deficit of $1.747 billion recorded in August 2024. During September 2024, exports stood at $2.8 billion, up 13.5 percent over the same month of the previous year while going slightly up by 1.6 percent over the previous month. The country’s exports increased by 14.11 percent during the first three months (July-September) of the current fiscal year 2024-25 and stood at $7.875 billion compared to $6.901 billion during the same period of last fiscal year 2023-24. Imports during the month remained at $4.6 billion compared to imports of $3.9 billion in September 2023. On a month-on-month basis, imports increased by 1.7 percent. The country’s imports increased by 9.86 percent and stood at $13.310 billion during the first three months of the current fiscal year compared to $12.115 billion during the same period of last fiscal year. During 1QFY25, the trade deficit increased by 4.2 percent YoY to $5.4 billion.