KARACHI: Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 57% during fiscal year 2021-22, and reached
$48.67 billion compared to $30.96 billion during the fiscal year 2020-21, revealed official
provisional data, shared by Arif Habib Limited (AHL) on Monday.
The country’s exports registered a growth of 10% on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, increasing
from $2.63 billion in May 2022 to $2.89 billion in June 2022.
According to the provisional data, country’s exports increased by 27% and remained $31.85 billion
in the fiscal year, 2021-22, compared to $25.16 billion recorded during the same period of 2020-21.
Imports increased by 43% during the (July-June) of the last fiscal year and stood at $80.51 billion
compared to $56.12 billion during the same period in fiscal 2020-2021 year, the PBS stated.
A widening trade gap has become a headache for policymakers, as the country struggles to curb
an outflow of dollars, which puts pressure on the currency.
Meanwhile, the incumbent government has been actively pursuing the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) to revive its stalled Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme.
Last week, Pakistan received combined economic and financial targets for the seventh and eighth
reviews of its IMF bailout programme, said Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.
On Twitter, Miftah said the government had received the lender’s Memorandum of Economic and
Financial Policies (MEFP) for both reviews, following meetings last week between the two sides.
The IMF programme is widely seen as crucial for Pakistan’s economy, which has struggled with
high inflation and a widening current account deficit.
Meanwhile, the country’s trade deficit widened by 37% on a year-on-year basis, jumping from
$3.55 billion in June 2021 to $4.85 billion in June 2022.
Imports registered an increase of 26% on a year-on-year basis and jumped from $6.28 billion in
June 2021 to $7.74 billion in June 2022.
Further, exports registered 6% growth on a year-on-year basis and increased from $2.73 billion in
June 2021 to $2.89 billion in June 2022.
Provisional figures show that the trade deficit widened by 17% on a month-on-month basis from
$4.15 billion in May 2022 to $4.85 billion in June 2022.
Imports increased by 14% on a month-on-month basis and remained $7.74 billion in June 2022
compared to $6.78 billion in May 2022.