Pakistan’s Trade Deficit Widens 30% in August as Imports Increase

Pakistan’s trade deficit narrowed by over 40 percent on a year-on-year basis in August 2023 according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

The trade deficit during August 2023 came in at $2.13 billion, down 40.5 percent compared to a trade deficit of $3.57 billion recorded in the same month of the previous fiscal year. The country’s trade deficit rose by nearly 30 percent to $2.13 billion in August 2023 compared to the trade deficit of $1.64 billion recorded in July 2023.

The country’s exports in August 2023 stood at 2.36 billion, down 4.8 percent over exports of $2.48 billion recorded in August 2022 while registering an increase of 14.3 percent over the exports of $2.07 billion recorded in the previous month.

The country’s imports in August stood at $4.49 billion, down nearly 26 percent compared to imports of 6.05 billion in August 2022. However, imports jumped 21 percent in August 2023 compared to imports of $3.71 billion recorded in the previous month.

The trade deficit during the first two months of the current fiscal year (2MFY24) stood at $3.76 billion, down 40.3 percent compared to a trade deficit of $6.30 billion recorded in 2MFY23.