Tourism expands 87%, construction shrinks 60%

2023 financial report reveals IT sector remained almost stagnant

ISLAMABAD:

Earnings from the tourism sector have witnessed a surge of 87 per cent while that from the construction sector shrank by 60 per cent.

According to the performance report for fiscal year 2022-23 obtained from the commerce ministry by The Express Tribune, in contrast to the $500 million of the fiscal year 2021-22, the financial year 2022-23 reported earnings of $930.5 million in the tourism sector.

Contrastingly, the report showed a decrease of 60.5% in earnings from the construction sector – dropping from fiscal year 2021-22’s $860 million to $340 million.

Surprisingly, the growing field of information technology (IT), which has taken the world by storm, remained somewhat stagnant – decreasing 0.6% in the last fiscal year.

The details of the previous fiscal year’s trade with various countries and regions were also mentioned in the documents.

The trade volume between Pakistan and the European Union was reported at $14.2 billion. According to the documents, Pakistan's exports to the EU were $9.49 billion, and imports stood at $4.71 billion.

Additionally, Pakistan's exports to the United States clocked in at $6.04 billion.

The trade volume of Pakistan with African countries for the previous fiscal year was $4.44 billion.

As per the documents, the trade volume with Gulf countries was $19.62 billion. Pakistan's exports were $16.97 billion, while the imports stood at $2.66 billion.

On an annual basis, Pakistan’s revenue from the Middle East increased by 3.2%. There was a 24% decrease in imports from the region.

Additionally, trade worth of $186.4 million was achieved with Afghanistan. Pakistan's exports to Afghanistan amounted to $97.2 million and the imports $89.3 million.

The trade volume with Iran was $88 million.

Pakistan's trade volume with Central Asian states was $34.5 million, which is expected to increase after the situation in Afghanistan stabilises.