Pakistan’s exports remain on downward trajectory

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports continued to witness a downward trend for five months in a row as the exports were down by 20.41 percent in December on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, swelling the trade deficit to USD 19.20 billion in the first half of the financial year 2025-26.

According to statistics released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the textile exports declined by 9 percent and food items by 35 percent.

The PBS’s figures depict a very gloomy picture of external trade. In December 2025,the exports stood at USD2.32 billion compared to USD2.91 billion in the corresponding period of last year, registering a reduction of USD594 million. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the exports declined by 4.26 percent as exports were USD2.42 billion in November last year.

In December, the imports nominally increased by 2 percent to USD 6 billion compared to USD5.90 billion in the corresponding period of last year. On a MoM basis, the imports increased by 13.49 percent to USD6 billion compared to USD5.31 billion in November last year.

In the first half of 2025-26, the exports are down by 8.70 percent to USD15.18 billion compared to USD16.63 billion in the corresponding period of last year. Whereas the imports in the first half of 2025-26 were up 11.28 percent to USD34.4 billion compared to USD30.90 billion in the same period last year.

READ MORE: Pakistan’s trade deficit surges 33% YoY to $2.9bn in November 2025

According to sources in the Ministry of Commerce, the exports of textiles and apparel in December stood at USD1.36 billion compared to USD 1.48 billion in the same period last year. However, despite a declining trend, the textile and apparel exports are still on a positive trajectory with a nominal increase of one percent to USD9.19 billion in the first half of 2025-26 percent. Exports of agriculture & food also sharply declined by 35 percent to USD2.62 billion in the first half compared to USD 4.06 billion in the same period last year.

The persistent decline underscores mounting pressure on the country’s trade performance, as exporters grapple with subdued global markets and the high cost of doing business. The textile exporters have already complained about contractions owing to the high cost of doing business. According to them, until and unless the government slashed the electricity cost to 7 to 8 cents, the textile industry would not be able to compete in the international market. The existing electricity rate of 12 cents per unit is not economically viable for the industry, and the LNG is also becoming very expensive for the textile industry to run its captive power plants.

Meanwhile, exports of services in November 2025 stood at USD814.25 million, registering an increase of 0.41 percent on a MoM basis and 22.26 percent on a YoY basis. Whereas the imports of services in November were down to USD953.24 million, registering a decline of 9 percent MoM basis but up by 16.72 percent on a YoY basis.

In the July-November period of 2025-26, the exports of services remained USD3.83 billion, and the imports of services stood at USD5.15 billion and showing a deficit of USD1.31 billion.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026