Pakistan’s exports have crossed $2 billion for the fifth consecutive month, but have declined year-on-year, as per an announcement tweeted by the Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, on Monday.
His tweet read: “Our exports for Feb-2021 (28 days) stand at USD 2,044 million as compared to USD 2,140 million for Feb-2020 (29 days), a decline of 4.5%”.
Ministry of Commerce would like to share that, Alhamdolillah, for 5th consecutive month, our exports have crossed the USD 2 billion mark. Our exports for Feb-2021 (28 days) stand at USD 2,044 million as compared to USD 2,140 million for Feb-2020 (29 days), a decline of 4.5%. 1/3
— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) March 1, 2021
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He also stated that for eight months of the current fiscal year (July 2020 to February 2021), Pakistan’s exports had increased by 4.2 percent at $16,300 million as compared to $15,643 million during the same time period of the previous fiscal year.
“We wish to congratulate our exporters for their hard work in earning the foreign exchange for the country and urge them to market their exports even more aggressively,” the adviser added.
Despite its increasing exports, Pakistan’s trade deficit has been continuously widening as well. By January 2021, the deficit amount recorded had been $2.6 billion, primarily due to the growing imports. This is up from the $2.15 billion trade deficit recorded in January 2020.
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Imports had also increased by 15 percent in January 2021, or $4.73 billion, as compared to $4.12 billion recorded in January 2020.
This trade deficit is likely to show worsening for both February and the remaining five months of the current fiscal year. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is yet to release trade figures in this regard.
