ISLAMABAD: The country’s merchandise exports recorded a negative growth of 8.93 per cent in April, marking the second such instance during the current fiscal year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

Export proceeds fell to a single-digit growth in October, with the growth pace progressively slowing in subsequent months, eventually turning negative in February with a 5.57pc decline, and now again in April with an 8.93pc drop.

Although export growth briefly returned in March with a modest 3.08pc increase, it slipped back into negative territory in April.

The continued slowdown in export proceeds may concern policymakers in the federal government. However, the Ministry of Commerce is not showing signs of alarm over the consistent decline.

July-April trade deficit widens by 8.81pc to $21.35bn

Despite the trend, the government may need to consider proposals in the upcoming budget to restore double-digit growth in exports.

The Ministry of Commerce is currently evaluating the impact of the recent increase in tariffs by the United States on Pakistan’s exports. The US remains the leading market for Pakistan’s textile products.

Export performance in the earlier months of FY25 showed stronger growth — 11.83pc in July, 16pc in August, 13.52pc in September, 10.64pc in October, 8.98pc in November, 0.67pc in December and 4.59pc in January.

In April, exports stood at $2.14 billion, compared to $2.35bn in the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis, exports declined by 19.05pc.

During the first 10 months (July-April) of FY25, export proceeds reached $26.86bon, up from $25.27bn in the same period last year, showing a growth of 6.25pc.

Global buyers have recently redirected clothing sourcing from Bangladesh and China to Pakistan, offering Pakistani exporters an opportunity to capture a larger share of the market.

However, the recent rise in gas tariffs for captive power plants, along with a phased 20pc levy on the supply of natural gas/RLNG to textile sector power plants, is expected to affect export performance in the coming months.

In FY24, Pakistan’s merchandise exports rose by 10.54pc to $30.64bn, up from $27.72bn the previous year.

Trade deficit

According to the PBS data, imports grew by 7.37pc to $48.21bn in July-April FY25, up from $44.90bn in the same period last year. In April alone, imports surged to $5.53bn, compared to $4.85bn last year — an increase of 14.09pc. Month-on-month, imports increased by 14.52pc.

The IMF has revised its import forecast for FY25 downward by $3.3bn — from $60.5bn to $57.2 billion — closely aligning with the government’s projection of $57.3bn. In FY24, imports fell by 0.84pc to $54.73bn from $55.19bn in FY23.

The trade deficit for July-April FY25 widened by 8.81pc to $21.35bn, up from $19.62bn in the same period last year.

In April, the deficit jumped by 35.79pc to $3.38bn, compared to $2.49bn last year. The trade gap narrowed to $24.08bn in FY24 from $27.47bn in FY23.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2025