Pakistan Loses $2 Billion in Exports

Pakistan’s total goods and services exports are expected to remain close to $40 billion in FY2026 despite a sharp decline in merchandise exports, with robust growth in IT and other services offsetting weakness in goods shipments.

According to Topline Securities, goods exports declined by around 6 percent, or nearly $2 billion, to approximately $30 billion during FY26, based on provisional data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

He noted that the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) Balance of Payments data, which records exports based on actual foreign exchange inflows and is generally considered the more comprehensive measure, is expected to be released in the coming weeks.

The decline in goods exports was driven primarily by a sharp correction in rice exports. After reaching exceptionally high levels in the previous year, rice exports fell by more than $1 billion as global prices normalized following the easing of India’s export restrictions, coupled with lower export volumes.

Exports of several other agricultural commodities and non-textile products also remained under pressure during the year. Meanwhile, textile exports remained broadly stable, with value-added textile products showing improvement, although the sector was unable to fully offset declines in other export categories.

On the services side, however, Pakistan is expected to post another strong year. Services exports, led by IT and IT-enabled services, are projected to grow by nearly 20%, helping keep the country’s combined goods and services exports close to $40 billion.

Data shared by Topline Securities, based on SBP figures, shows Pakistan’s total goods and services exports have remained resilient over recent years, rising from $38.5 billion in FY2024 to $40.4 billion in FY2025, with FY2026 expected to close at around $40.1 billion, despite weaker merchandise exports.