The Trade Deficit with Nine Regional States Expands by 41%

by ahblog · June 24, 2024

trade deficit with nine regional states expands by 41 percent - pakistan - ahgroup-pk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan`s trade gap with nine regional countries expanded by 40.37 percent to $8.411 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, up from $5.992 billion recorded in the same period last year.

The trade deficit surged due to heightened imports from China and India, alongside a slight increase in imports from other regional nations compared to the previous year. Exports to regional countries, particularly China, grew over the review period.

However, according to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan, exports to other regional countries continued to decline.

The value of Pakistan`s exports to the nine regional countries Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives rose 20.58pc to $4.042bn in July-May 202324 from $3.352bn in the corresponding period last year.

Contrary to this, imports surged 33.27pe to $12.453bn in 11M FY24 from $9.344bn over the corresponding period of last year. This shows a slight increase in trade deficit with maximum countries in FY24.

Imports from China also increased by 34.45pc to $12.148bn in 11MFY24 from $9.039bn in the corresponding months of last year. The bulk of imports in the region are also sourced from China, followed by India.

Pakistan’s imports from India rose 8.98% to $189.07 million in the first 11 months of FY24, up from $173.49 million in the corresponding period last year. Meanwhile, exports to India amounted to $3.550 million this year, a significant increase from $0.273 million in the same period the previous year.

Exports to Afghanistan increased 6.13pc to $507.94m in 11M FY24 from $478.62m last year.

A very negligible export was made to Iran in 11MFY24. Most of the trade with Tehran is carried out through informal channels.

Exports to Bangladesh fell 14.57pc to $605.74m from $709.05m. Imports also dipped 27.94pc to $51.67m from $71.71m in 11MFY23.

Exports to Sri Lanka surged 36.68pc to $361.69m in 11MFY24 from $264.61m over the last year. Imports from Sri Lanka rose by 21.08pc to $53.63m from $44.29m over the previous year.

Exports to Nepal decreased 7.94% to $2.55 million in the first 11 months of FY24, down from $2.77 million in the previous year. Conversely, exports to the Maldives increased by 8.93% to $8.41 million from $7.72 million over the same period last year.

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