ISLAMABAD The exports of tobacco from the country witnessed an increase of 49.75 percent during the first eight months of current financial year 2019-20, against the exports of the corresponding period of last year. The tobacco exports from the country were recorded at $25.927 million during July-February (2019-20) against the exports of $17.314 million during July-February (2018-19), according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In terms of quantity, the exports of tobacco also increased by 24.52 percent by going up from 7,695 metric tons to 9,582 metric tons, according to the data. Meanwhile, on year-to-year basis, the export of tobacco increased by 1098.12 percent during the month of February 2020 when compared to the same month of last year. The exports of tobacco from the country during February 2020 were recorded at $8.291 million against the exports of $0.692 million in February 2019. On month-on-month basis, the exports of tobacco also increased by 135.27 percent during February 2020 when compared to the exports of 3.524 million in January 2020, the PBS data revealed. It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 26.06 percent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same months of last year. During the period under review, the country’s exports registered about 3.62 per cent growth, whereas imports reduces by 13.81 per cent, according the foreign trade statistics, released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). During the period from July-February (2019-20), exports reached to $15.643 billion against the exports of $15.097 billion of the same period of last year, it added. Meanwhile, the country’s imports witnessed significant decrease of 13.81 % as these went down from $36.563 billion in first eight months of last financial year to $31.515 billion of same period of current financial year, it said.—APP
