ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 32.39 per cent to a record high at $7.201 billion in the first five months of the current fiscal year against $5.439 billion last year owing to higher increase in oil prices in the international market.

The widening trade gap is the outcome of more than 18 per cent growth in imports in July-November this year over last year. This growth in import is expected to rise as oil prices have already reached record $98 per barrel this year.

Official figures released here on Tuesday by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) showed that the trade deficit increased by 15.71 per cent to $1.618 billion in November 2007 against $1.398 billion last year.

The statistics indicate that the growth in imports value recorded a marginal increase in November as compared to October 2007 where imports recorded more than 54 per cent growth.

With this highest growth in imports, the trade deficit also recorded 129 per cent growth in October 2007, the highest ever in any month of the current fiscal year. The over-all trade deficit recorded more than 38 per cent in July-October over the last year.

The overall deficit stood at $13.564 billion during 2006-07 as against $12 billion over the previous year. If the import growth continued to rise at the same pace, the deficit may reach around $15 billion during the current financial year.

Exports have gone up marginally by 7.13 per cent to $7.381 billion during July-November this year as against $6.890 billion over the same period last year.

A target of $19.2 billion exports has been set for 2007-08 but import target was not fixed as it is not manageable for the government.

On a monthly basis, the exports recorded an impressive growth of 12.28 per cent to $1.543 billion in November 2007 against $1.374 billion last year.

This sudden increase in export of commodities was the outcome of some increase in export of textile goods.

An official in the commerce ministry told Dawn the exports goods made their headway in international market because of the Indian rupee appreciation and higher demand for Chinese textile goods in domestic market owing to increase in the middle class. He said that there was a huge demand for Pakistani home-textile products in the United States and some other markets, where India and China were the main suppliers.

Imports climbed by 18.27 per cent to $14.583 billion during the July-November period against $12.330 billion over the same period last year.

On a monthly basis, the import bill went up by 14.01 per cent to $3.162 billion in November against $2.773 billion last year.

Analysts said the country had already been facing a current account deficit for the last couple of years owing to lesser export growth and record increase in imports.

They said this would be more worrisome for the new government as it could face serious problems to meet the current account deficit as no major transaction in privatisation or investment was expected in the current fiscal year.