New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Pakistan’s trade deficit jumped by 22 per cent to $39.5 billion in the financial year ended June as the economy continues to depend heavily on imports while exports have contracted amid the economic slowdown, according to figures compiled Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The data showed that the country’s imports increased 8 per cent to $69.6 billion, while exports declined 6 per cent to $30.1 billion in the fiscal year 2025-26.
On a month-on-month basis, Pakistan’s trade deficit widened 57 per cent to $4.53 billion in June, as exports fell 10 per cent to $2.24 billion while imports surged 26 per cent to $6.77 billion, according to PBS data.
“Pakistan’s trade deficit is structural because the economy relies heavily on imported energy, machinery and industrial raw materials, while exports remain concentrated in low value-added products such as textiles,” Muhammad Waqas Ghani, head of research at JS Global Capital Limited, told Arab News on Saturday.
Textiles remain Pakistan’s largest export sector, earning $17.97 billion last year, up just 0.34 per cent from $17.91 billion a year earlier, according to the report in Arab News based on data provided by All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).
“As domestic demand and growth are recovering, imports are rising much faster than exports, causing the trade gap to widen,” said Ghani.
However, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jameel Ahmad also raised the trade deficit issue as a matter for concern during a media briefing in Karachi this week.
Business leaders also expressed concern over the widening trade gap. The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) called the deficit a “massive deterioration in Pakistan’s trade balance,” the Arab News report said.
It cited FPCCI president Atif Ikram Sheikh as saying, “The effect of plunging exports poses a critical threat to the country’s external account stability and foreign exchange reserves. It is a clear indicator that our export-oriented industries are being pushed to the wall.”
–IANS
sps/pk