Explanation : Commerce minister briefs on EU export

The trade deficit during July-March 2014-15 was $16.1 billion

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir Khan has said that a 21% increase has been witnessed in Pakistani exports to the European Union during the last year. Addressing a question-and-answer session at the National Assembly, the minister said the import bill during July-March 2014-15 was $34 billion and trade deficit during said period was $16.1 billion. He said the reason for the decline of exports was due to the decrease in international prices of commodities. He said that there has been a global trend of a decrease in prices of cotton and rice as these commodities had seminal importance in Pakistan’s exports and the decrease in prices has adversely affected exports. Dastgir said that another reason was the increase in the cost of production while the prices of agricultural commodities had declined. The minister added that the depreciation of dollar and euro against rupee was another reason for the decline.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th,  2015.

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