ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to the United States of America (USA) have posted a growth of 35 percent to $9 billion during FY 2021-22 against $7 billion in FY2020-21.
According to Pakistan Ambassador to the United States of America (USA) Masood Khan, there has been a net increase of $ 2 billion in Pakistani exports to the US in the last year.
In 2021-22, the imports from the United States have been $ 3 billion compared to last year’s $ 2.4 billion. Thus, the total trade volume between Pakistan and the United States has increased to $ 12 billion compared to last year’s nearly $ 9.5 billion.
“We have a big trade surplus with the US”, the ambassador said.
According to an official statement, Ambassador Masood Khan said that the impressive growth of Pakistani exports to the United States is a trendsetter for our other export destinations around the world and added that the United States has maintained its primacy as being the largest export destination for Pakistan anywhere in the world.
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“If the exports continue to grow at the rate of 35 percent per year, in the next three years overall Pakistan-US trade volume would cross $ 20 billion, which would still be a modest goal given the immense potential that is there between the two markets”, he said.
The impressive performance of our exports in the US market, the Pakistan envoy said, should boost confidence in domestic markets and amongst foreign investors. Besides, he said, the remarkable growth of overall Pakistani exports should contribute to the stability of Pakistan’s economy and assuage fears being stoked. “What we need the most is market confidence”, he said.
Out of the total volume of $ 9 billion in Pakistani exports, goods constitute $ 6.8 billion while the component of services including IT export is $ 2.2 billion. Pakistan exported IT products worth nearly $ 1.4 billion to the US. The IT exports of June 2022 have yet to be included. In the past year, the Pakistan-based tech startups have earned around $ 800 million out of which 60 percent has been funded by US-based Venture Capital firms primarily in San Francisco.
Top American Venture Capital firms like Kleiner Perkins, Tiger Global, and Sequia have started supporting Pakistan’s successful startups at the pre-seed, seed, and incubation stages.
Pakistan's exports to US continue upward trend: Masood Khan
Ambassador Masood Khan said that in the past few months, Pakistan and the United States have been engaged to promote trade and investment between the two countries as well as to enhance cooperation in the health, agriculture, and tech sectors. “The emphasis is on connectivity and productivity as well as tangible results”, he said adding that early dividends would be forthcoming soon.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022