The imports into the country were recorded at $24.402 billion during the first half of the current fiscal year compared to the imports of $22.162 billion, showing an increase of 10.11 percent.
Based on the figures, the trade deficit during July-December (2016-17) was recorded at $14.490 billion compared to the deficit of $11.856 billion recorded during the same period of last year, showing 22.22 percent increase in deficit.
Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports from the country decreased by 3.09 percent during December 2016. The exports during December 2016 were recorded at $1.727 billion compared to the exports of $1.782 billion during December 2015.
The imports into the country during the month under review were recorded at $4.488 percent, as against the imports of $3.817 billion during last December, showing positive growth of 17.58 percent.
On month-on-month basis, the exports from the country declined 1.99 percent during the month of December 2016 when compared to the exports of $1.762 billion during November 2016.
On the other hand, the imports into the country increased by 6.10 percent in December 2016 compared to the imports of $4.230 billion during November 2016.