Pakistan’s trade gap widens 56pc in October as imports surge

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s goods trade deficit widened nearly 55.88 percent year-on-year in October 2025 to $3.21 billion, official data showed Tuesday, as imports jumped and exports slipped, deepening stress on the country’s fragile external sector and threatening currency stability.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), imports surged 20.18 percent to $6.06 billion, while exports fell 4.46 percent to $2.85 billion in October over the same month of last year. The gap, though still huge, was 4.2 percent narrower than September’s deficit of $3.35 billion.

During the first four months (July-October) of the ongoing fiscal year, the trade gap ballooned 38 percent year-on-year to $12.58 billion. Imports during this period climbed 15.1 percent to $23.03 billion, while exports slipped 4.04 percent to $10.45 billion.

Economists warned that the widening deficit could strain foreign exchange reserves, put pressure on the rupee and complicate external debt repayments.

PBS data, however, interestingly showed the services trade deficit reducing 34.3 percent in September 2025, to $198.5 million, compared with $302 million a year earlier. Services exports rose 20.3 percent to $796.7 million, while imports edged up 3.17 percent to $995.2 million.

In the last fiscal year (FY25), the services trade deficit had narrowed 15.8 percent to $2.62 billion, driven by a 9.2 percent rise in services exports to $8.4 billion, compared with a modest 2 percent increase in imports to $11 billion.