ISLAMABAD: The first month of the current fiscal year saw a decline of 14.55 per cent in exports to nine regional countries, mainly driven by a drop in shipments to China, data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan showed.

The country’s exports to Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives dipped to $260.983 million — just 12.62pc of total exports of $2.068bn in July.

The decline is not confined to exports but imports especially from China also saw a steep decline in July from a year ago. In FY23, exports to regional countries dipped 21.1pc to $3.331bn on a year-on-year basis.

Pakistan’s bulk of the regional exports share, which accounts for 60pc, is with China while the rest is with the remaining eight countries.

Exports to China declined 15.32pc to $147.385m in July from $174.056m over the corresponding month of last year. In FY23, the exports to China declined 27.3pc to $2.02 from $2.78bn in FY22. It was the first decrease in the post-Covid period.

Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan posted a positive growth of 32.79pc to $42.173m in July from $31.757m in the same month last year.

Till a few years ago, Afghanistan was the second major export destination for Pakistan after the United States.

The export figures did not include proceeds materialised through the land routes.

No exports were made to Iran on the official channel in July. Most of the trade with Tehran is carried out through informal channels in border areas of Balochistan. Pakistan carried out barter trade with Iran.

The country’s exports to India declined 48.9pc to $0.024m in July from $0.047m in the corresponding month last year. Exports to Bangladesh decreased 28.69pc to $50.731m from $71.147m in July 2022. Exports to Sri Lanka dipped by 27.29pc to $20.463m in July from $28.146m in the same period last year.

On the other hand, exports to Nepal declined year-on-year by 26.59pc to $0.207m in July. Shipments to the Maldives increased by 18.51pc to $0.544m from $0.459m. No export to Bhutan was recorded in July.

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2023