Amid the government’s ongoing efforts to stabilize economic indicators, the country’s goods exports rose by 6.25% year-on-year to $26.86 billion in the first ten months of fiscal year 2024-25, The News reported on Saturday.
However, figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) revealed a significant downturn, with April exports falling by 8.93% from the previous year and by 19% from the preceding month.
Meanwhile, imports during the July-April period increased by 7.37% to $48.2 billion, driven by higher demand for machinery, fuel, and raw materials. Consequently, the trade deficit widened by 8.8% to $21.35 billion, further straining the country’s already fragile external account.
In April 2025 alone, imports surged by 14.1% year-on-year to $5.53 billion, while exports dropped by 8.9% to $2.14 billion. The monthly trade deficit rose by 35.8% to $3.39 billion, compared to $2.5 billion in April of the previous year. According to brokerage house Topline Securities, the deficit in April 2025 represents the highest monthly trade deficit in three years.
On a month-over-month basis, the trade deficit surged by 55% compared to a deficit of $2.18 billion reported in March 2025. Exports declined by 19% from March, while imports increased by 14.5%.
PBS data also indicated that services exports grew by 9.7% year-on-year to $6.24 billion during the first nine months of FY25, while services imports climbed by 8.74% to $8.55 billion.
This resulted in a 6.27% expansion in the services trade deficit, reaching $2.31 billion. In March 2025, services exports increased by 4.9% to $743.3 million, while imports spiked by 6.9% to $970.1 million compared to the same month last year.
Despite the deteriorating trade balance, Pakistan’s external account remains resilient, primarily due to strong remittance inflows. The country recorded a record monthly current account surplus of $1.2 billion in March 2025, boosted by an all-time high in workers’ remittances of $4.1 billion. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has stated that the current account is expected to remain in surplus throughout the fiscal year.
In March 2025, the country achieved its highest-ever monthly current account surplus of $1.2 billion. This was largely driven by an unprecedented surge in workers’ remittances, which reached a historic high of $4.1 billion during the month.
