Exports increase to $1.801 billion in March

KARACHI: Pakistan’s exports rose 9.95 percent month-on-month and 3.62 percent year-on-year to $1.801 billion in March, official data showed on Tuesday, indicating that the government’s exports package is coming to fruition.

Early this year, the government announced Rs180 billion (approximately $1.8 billion) tax incentives scheme to arrest the continuous decline of exports. 

Imports also showed an upward trend mainly due to a Chinese-funded infrastructure development projects. In March, imports increased 13.35 percent month-on-month (MoM) and 41.22 percent year-on-year (YoY) to five billion dollar, said the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). 

Balance of trade was recorded in negative during the month. Trade deficit widened 15.35 percent to $3.208 billion in March over February, while it swelled 77.34 percent in March over the same month a year ago.   

Trade deficit increased 38.80 percent to $23.385 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year of 2016/17. 

Exports marginally dropped 3.06 percent to $15.119 billion in the July-March period, while imports soared 18.67 percent to $38.504 billion in the period under review.

PBS data further showed that the country exported $3.528 billion of services during the July-February period of 2016/17, down 2.98 percent over the corresponding period a year ago. Imports of services amounted to $5.514 billion in the period under review, up 1.35 percent YoY. 

Trade deficit in services widened 10.09 percent to $1.985 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. 

In February, trade deficit more than doubled MoM as well as YoY to $17.41 million. Exports of services rose 95.10 percent MoM and 90.31 percent YoY to $668.33 million, while services import increased 5.92 percent MoM and 15.45 percent YoY to $650.92 million.