Services exports up by 5pc in two months

ISLAMABAD: The services exports from the country increased by 4.94 percent during the first two months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The services exports from Pakistan were recorded at $816.27 million during July-August (2017-18) compared to the exports of $777.84 million during July-August (2016-17), showing growth of 4.94 percent, according to the data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The services import during the period went up by 25.01 percent by going up from $1439.20 million last year to $1799.08 million during the first two months of current fiscal year.

Based on the figures, the services trade deficit during the first two months of the current year stood at $982.81 million compared to the deficit of $661.36 million during the same period of last year, showing growth of 48.6 percent.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports from the country witnessed negative growth of 4.29 percent during the month of August 2017 compared to the exports of August 2016. The services exports during August 2017 were recorded at $409.44 million compared to the exports of $427.77 million in August 2017, the PBS data revealed.

Meanwhile, the services imports into the country surged by 20.50 percent by going up from $744.7 million last August to $892.34 million during August 2017.

On month-on-month basis, the services exports during August 2017 increased by 0.64 percent when compared to the trade of $406.83 million in July 2017.

The imports into the country also declined by 0.49 percent in August 2017 when compared to the imports of $901.74 million in July 2017, the PBS data revealed.

It is pertinent to mention here that the merchandise exports from the country during the first quarter of the current fiscal year increased by 10.84 percent.

The merchandise exports from the country were recorded at $5,172 million in July-September (2017-18) compared to the exports of $1,538 million during July-September (2016-17).

The imports into the country also increased by 22.19 percent by going up from $11670 million last year to $14,260 million during the current fiscal year.

Based on the figures, the merchandize trade deficit was recorded at $9,088 million compared to the deficit of $7004 million last year, showing a growth of 29.75 percent.