Islamabad: The trade deficit of Pakistan recorded in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2023 declined 21.32% on a year-on-year basis, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Tuesday.
According to the revised data on monthly trade statistics by PBS, during the first quarter of FY23 (July-September), the trade deficit amounted to $9.2 billion. Compared to the deficit of $11.7 billion recorded during the same period of FY22, that is a sharp 21.32% drop.
The total imports during the first quarter stood at $16.44 billion compared to $18.71 billion recorded last year during the same period. Meanwhile, on a YoY basis, exports rose to $7.17 billion from $6.99 billion recorded last year in the first quarter.
August trade deficit swells to $3.5 billion MoM
In September alone, the trade deficit amounted to $2.9 billion, falling from August’s $3.58 billion. The imports in September fell to $5.34 billion from $6 billion on a month-on-month basis. Exports, however, also recorded a slight decline on an MoM basis in September as they fell to $2.44 billion from $2.48 billion.
It should also be noted that the trade deficit of Pakistan recorded a whopping increase of 55.7% during the fiscal year 2022, taking the total imbalance between imports and exports to $48.38 billion. Fuelled by the soaring trade imbalance and rising current account deficit, the forex exchange reserves have fallen to the $7.59 billion level as of October 7.
