ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s merchandise exports rose 9.54 per cent in the first month of FY27, even as the trade deficit widened on the back of rising imports, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported on Wednesday.

In absolute terms, export proceeds stood at $2.94 billion in July, up from $2.68bn in the same month last year. Officials noted that the impact of budgetary measures on the export sector may become more evident in the months ahead. On a month-on-month basis, export proceeds surged 31.09pc.

In FY26, Pakistan’s merchandise exports not only missed the annual target by $4.87bn, but also contracted, reflecting the PML-N-led coalition government’s failure to achieve visible improvement over the last four years. The export proceeds also contracted by 5.97pc compared with last year’s $32.04bn.

The planning ministry had earlier projected that export proceeds would climb to $60bn by 2030 — a target that has largely remained confined to official documents. More recently, however, the same ministry has revised the projection upward, setting a fresh target of $100bn to be achieved by 2035.

Trade gap widens to $3.95bn

The repeated claims of higher export targets underscore the gap between stated ambitions and actual performance of the country’s exports sector and planning, with analysts noting that such targets often remain aspirational rather than grounded in policy execution.

The slowing trend in exports has persisted in recent months, with exports posting negative growth in February and March, followed by a brief recovery in April and May. In June, exports dipped by 9.61pc year-on-year.

Negative export growth has continued since August of FY26, except in July, when exports grew by 16.43pc YoY. Export earnings posted negative growth, with proceeds declining by 20.41pc in December.

The export sector had already been under pressure since February due to the conflict in the Middle East. The disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz have pushed up shipping costs for exporters and disrupted supply chains. Furthermore, exports to Afghanistan were suspended since October 2025.

Trade deficit

According to the PBS data, imports surged 17.99pc to $6.88bn in July from $5.84bn in the same month last year. Month-on-month, imports decreased 0.17pc.

In FY26, the import bill grew by 7.89pc to $69.59bn, up from $64.51bn in the corresponding period last year. Imports rose 6.57pc to $58.38bn in FY25 from $54.78bn in FY24.

The trade deficit rose 25.17pc to $3.95bn in July from $3.15bn in the same month last year.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2026