Pakistan’s IT Exports Increase by 2.3% in First 7 Months of FY23

Despite persistent ease of doing business challenges and increase in the cost of doing business, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) export remittances of $ 1.523 billion have been realized by the IT & ITeS Industry during July-January 2023 of the financial year (FY) 2022-23, depicting an increase of 2.35 percent in comparison to $ 1.488 billion reported in the same period last year.

In January 2023, ICT export remittances increased by 2.15 percent to $190 million, when compared with ICT export remittances of $ 186 million reported in January 2022 last year.

The phenomenal trade surplus of $ 1.344 billion (88.25 percent of total ICT export remittances) has been realized by the IT & ITeS Industry during July-January FY23 to meet the foreign currency crunch faced by the country, an increase of 20.32 percent as compared to a trade surplus of $1.117 billion for the same period in FY22.

ICT sector exports of $1.523 billion are the highest among all Services (36.3 percent of the total export of services) with ‘Other Business Services’ trailing at $942 million.

Overall, the Services sector incurred a trade deficit of $301 billion in July-January FY23. Whereas, ICT services have delivered a phenomenal trade surplus of $1.344 billion which is the highest among all Services with ‘Other Business Services’ trailing at $267 million.

Overall, across goods and services, only the textile group has a higher trade surplus than the ICT sector amounting to $7.566 billion for the period July-January FY23, showing an increase of 6.8 percent as compared to a trade surplus of $7.084 billion for the same period in FY22.

Total exports of the textile group from July 2022 to January 2023 of FY23 are $10.330 billion, an increase of 0.16 percent as compared to exports of $10.314 billion for the same period in FY22.