Exports from Pakistan in Feb 2017 totalled Rs171.5 billion, Rs186bn a month earlier, showing an 8pc decline on a sequential basis.

Year on year, exports were 8.3pc lower from Rs187 billion in Feb 2016, provisional data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) shows.

The PBS's data showed that among the main export commodities, readymade garments saw a turnover of Rs20.6bn; knitwear Rs.18.5bn; bedwear Rs18bn; cotton cloth Rs16bn; rice other than basmati Rs12bn; cotton yarn Rs9.8bn; towels Rs6.7bn; madeup articles (excl, towels and bedwear) Rs5.4bn; fruits Rs4bn; and basmati rice Rs4bn.

Knitwear, cotton cloth, and fruits experienced double-digit month-on-month declines in exports, falling 11pc, 16pc, 10pc and 31pc, respectively.

On a similar pattern, imports too witnessed a decline from the preceding month.

Data reveals that imports during Feb 2017 amounted to Rs463bn against Rs495bn in Jan 2017 and Rs343bn in Feb 2016, showing a 6.46pc decrease month-on-month but a significant 34.84pc increase over the same period last year.

The main imports commodities included petroleum products, accounting for Rs49bn of imports; petroleum crude Rs23.8bn; power generating machinery Rs23bn; electrical machinery and apparatus Rs21bn; palm oil Rs17.8bn; iron and steel Rs17.6bn; plastic materials Rs17.5bn; liquefied natural gas Rs14.6bn; raw cotton Rs13.4bn; and pulses (leguminous vegetables) Rs11bn.

The PBS data showed a balance of trade deficit of Rs291bn for the the month under review.