• Proceeds drop 15.4pc to $2.4bn in November
• Monthly import bill grows 5.4pc to $5.25bn

ISLAMABAD: Merchandise exports shrank by 15.4 per cent year-on-year in November, marking the fourth consecutive month of decline in the current fiscal year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Tuesday.

The downward trend has raised alarm among policymakers amid fears of weakening global demand and a possible slump in foreign orders. Negative export growth has continued since August of the current fiscal year.

The figures showed the fifth month of contraction in the past six months, with July offering only a brief respite, marked by marginal growth in export proceeds.

The persistent decline underscores mounting pressure on the country’s trade performance, as exporters grapple with subdued global markets and the high cost of doing business. The textile exporters have already complained about contractions owing to the high cost of doing business.

Pakistan’s merchandise exports dipped 15.4pc to $2.398 billion in November from $2.833bn in the same month last year. On a month-on-month basis, the export proceeds fell 15.8pc in November.

In the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year, export proceeds recorded negative growth of 6.39pc to $12.84bn, compared with $13.72bn a year ago.

In July this year, the exports posted a growth of 16.9pc, a sharp turnaround from the negative growth recorded in the previous three consecutive months.

In the previous fiscal year, export proceeds stood at $32.1bn, compared with $30.675bn over the corresponding months of last year, an increase of 4.67pc.

Export growth fell to single digits in October last year and progressively slowed in the following months, eventually hitting negative territory in February. Export growth returned in March with a modest 3.08pc increase, but fell back into negative territory in April and the following months.

Trade deficit

According to the PBS data, imports grew 5.42pc to $5.25bn in November from $4.98bn over the corresponding month of last year. Month-on-month, imports decreased 13.8pc in November. In the first five months (July and November), the import bill grew 13.3pc to $28.32bn this year, up from $24.99bn over the year-ago period. Imports rose 6.57pc to $58.38bn in FY25 compared to $54.78bn in the previous year.

In November, the trade deficit rose 33pc to $2.85bn from $2.15bn over the corresponding month of last year. The trade deficit between July and November stood at $15.47bn, up from $11.27bn over the corresponding months of the previous year, indicating a 37.2pc increase.

The trade deficit in FY25 increased by 9pc to $26.27bn from $24.11bn over the last year.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2025