Trade balance improves $5.6b

Minister says work will continue to enable exporters to find new markets

ISLAMABAD:

Minister of Commerce Dr Gohar Ejaz has announced that Pakistan has performed remarkably in international trade as its year-on-year balance of payments improved by $5.6 billion.

“Positive trade figures and an upward trend showcase Pakistan’s resilience. We will continue to work towards enabling our exporters to find new destinations for exports,” said Ejaz in a statement released by the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday, which highlighted Pakistan’s trade achievements.

According to the ministry, in the first 20 days of December 2023, Pakistan experienced a year-on-year rise of $479 million in exports, reflecting a growth rate of 33.1%.

On the other hand, imports during the same period registered a substantial decrease of $405 million, or 12.8%. “This positive trend contributed to an improvement of $884 million in the balance of trade for December 2023,” it said.

Overall, since the start of the current fiscal year in July, exports have soared to $14 billion, recording a year-on-year growth of $709 million, or 5.3%.

However, imports during the same time period – from July 1, 2023 to December 20, 2023 – dropped to $24.3 billion compared to $29.2 billion in the corresponding period of FY23, reflecting a notable decrease of $4.9 billion.

Read US retains top spot in Pakistani exports

“This led to an improvement of $5.6 billion in the balance of trade,” the ministry said.

Among different sectors, agricultural and food exports rose 109.2% year-on-year, totaling $574.6 million in the first 20 days of December. It could be attributed to the robust performance in exports of maize, corn, ethyl, alcohol, tobacco and rice.

Apart from these, textile, manufacturing and engineering sectors demonstrated a 15% increase in exports between December 1 and 20, 2023.

Top export destinations were Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Madagascar and China, where shipments of goods significantly increased.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2023.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.