Trade deficit shrinks 13pc in 10 months

ISLAMABAD: The country's merchandize trade deficit plunged by 12.82 percent during the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The trade deficit contracted by $3.867 billion to $26.302 billion during July-April (2018-19) against the deficit of $30.169 billion recorded during July-April (2017-18), according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The exports during the period under review witnessed nominal decrease of 0.12% by falling from $19.191 billion during last year to $19.169 billion during the ongoing fiscal year.

On the other hand, the imports declined by 7.88% to $45.471 billion during the period under review from $49.360 billion last year, the data revealed.

On year-on-year basis, the imports into the country witnessed negative growth of 6.42% during April 2019 when compared to the imports of same month of last year. The imports during April 2019 were recorded at $4.753 billion against the imports of $5.079 billion in April 2018.

The exports during the month under review also witnessed a decline of 1.54% to $2.094 billion in April 2019 from $2.127 billion in April 2018.

Based on the figures, the trade deficit during the month shrunk by 9.93% by going down from the deficit of $2.952 billion in April 2018 to $2.659 billion in April 2019, the PBS data revealed.

On month-on-month basis, the imports into the country increased by 14.39% in April 2019 when compared to the imports of $4.155 billion in March 2019.

On the other hand, the exports increased  by 5.81% in April 2019 when compared to the exports of $1.979 billion in March 2019, the data revealed.