ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s merchandise exports posted a growth of 25 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year from a year ago, showing data released by the commerce ministry on Friday.

In absolute terms, the export proceeds reached $23.332 billion in July-March from $18.688bn in the corresponding period last year. The increase in export is mainly due to the massive depreciation of the rupee along with several support measures.

“Our exports are in line with our targets & we expect to achieve our yearly target”, Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood said on Friday. The government has projected the annual export target for commodities at $31.2bn and services at $7.5bn.

The export proceeds in March grew 17.3pc to $2.773bn from $2.365bn in the same month last year. The average monthly export proceeds hover between $2.5bn to $2.8bn.

“We would like to congratulate our exporters for maintaining the momentum of exports under these testing times in the global market,” the adviser further said.

The ministry did not release the import figures for March. “The import figures would be shared when finalised by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics,” the adviser further said.

Export proceeds went up by 18pc to $25.294bn in FY21 from $21.394bn over the preceding year.

In December, the government has approved the revised Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2020-25 with a string of policy measures to promote the annual export target to $57bn by end of 2024-25.

This is the fourth strategic framework since 2009 and the government allocated Rs44.72bn for its implementation in the next five years by giving subsidies and other support to non-textile sectors.

At the same time, in February the government has also approved the Textile and Apparel Policy (TAP) 2021-25 which envisages diversification of export markets and products.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2022