The country's trade deficit contracted by a significant 35 percent in the first quarter of the 2020 financial year, the Pakistan Statistical Office (PBS) reported.
The PBS in its quarterly report said the country's trade deficit was $ 5,727 billion during the quarter ending September 30 compared to a deficit of $ 8,791 billion during the same period last year.
The decline was largely driven by a drop in imports, which reduced by 20.59pc compared to the first quarter of last year. During the period under review, exports increased by a marginal 2.75pc.
According to PBS data, the volume of exports during the three months registered $ 5.522 billion compared to $ 5.374 billion during the same last fiscal period.
Meanwhile, imports fell to $ 11,249 billion in July-September 2019 in contrast to $ 14,165 billion during the same period last year.
On a month-to-month basis, exports increased by 2.67pc during the month of September to $ 1,769bn from $ 1,723bn in the corresponding month last year. Similarly, imports fell by 13.90pc to $ 3.785bn from $ 4.396bn in September 2018. The trade deficit showed a sharp decrease of 24.58pc in September 2019 compared to the same month last year.
A comparison of the September 2019 and August 2019 numbers shows that exports decreased by 4.99 percent in September compared to the previous month, while imports increased by 1.42 percent.
In September, exports stood at $ 1,769 billion compared to $ 1,862 billion in August. Imports increased to $ 3,785 billion in September from $ 3,732 billion in August this year. The general trade deficit increased by 7.81pc in September compared to the previous month.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1510283/trade-deficit-shrinks-by-35-in-first-quarter-of-fy20