Pakistan’s Trade Deficit Fell by $2.2 billion in July-August 2019

After a delay of ten days, official trade figures were finally released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

According to PBS, Pakistan’s exports in August 2019 saw a decline of 7.65% to $1.859 billion as compared to $2.013 billion of August 2018.

On a monthly basis, the country’s exports in August were posted at $1.859 billion against $ 1.894 billion in July 2019, showing a decline of 1.85 percent.

According to data released by the PBS, cumulatively, the exports grew 2.8% or just $102 million to $3.75 billion in the July-August period of the current fiscal year as compared with $3.65 billion in 2018, which suggests a serious review of the monetary policy.

The following were the major exports commodities during August 2019:

• Knitwear (Rs. 44,054 million)
• Readymade garments (Rs. 37,261 million)
• Bed wear (Rs. 32,549 million)
• Cotton cloth (Rs. 27,991 million)
• Cotton yarn (Rs. 17,282 million)
• Rice others (Rs. 12,739 million)
• Towels (Rs. 9,686 million)
• Rice Basmati (Rs. 9,130 million)
• Made-up articles (excl. towels & bed wear) (Rs. 8,528 million)
• Surgical Goods & Medical Instruments (Rs. 5,971 million).

Balance of Trade

The trade deficit saw a decline of 35.86%, as it shrank to $3.92 billion from $6.1 billion in the first two months of this fiscal year (July-August). There was a decrease of $2.2 billion in the trade deficit and almost all of it came from falling imports.

Imports

During August 2019, Pakistan’s imports saw a decline of 9% to $3.658 billion as compared to $4.019 billion in July 2019. Moreover, on an annual basis, Pakistani imports witnessed a reduction of 26.26% as imports in August 2018 were $4.961 billion against $3.658 billion in August 2019.

In terms of US dollars, the imports during July-August 2019 totaled at $ 7.677 billion against $ 9.769 billion during the corresponding period of last year, showing a decrease of 21.41 percent, which provided relief to the government.

The following were the major imported commodities during August 2019:

• Petroleum products (Rs. 76,215 million)
• Natural gas, liquified (Rs.46,779 million)
• Electrical machinery and apparatus (Rs. 38,133 million)
  Plastic materials (Rs. 25,347 million)
• Palm oil (Rs. 23,792 million)
• Iron and steel (Rs. 23,695 million)
• Petroleum crude (Rs.23,328 million)
• Iron and steel scrap (Rs. 19,415 million)
• Power generating machinery (Rs. 15,564 million)
• Medicinal Products (Rs. 13,692 million).