November Trade Data Breakdown Reveals Positive Trends for Pakistan's Economy

In the latest release from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), revised trade data for November showcases promising developments in the country's economic landscape. The trade deficit for November stood at $1.966 billion, marking a notable improvement of 10% from the previous month's deficit of $2.174 billion.

Year-on-Year (YoY), the trade deficit for November 2023 exhibited an even more substantial decline, registering a 29% reduction compared to November 2022's deficit of $2.77 billion.

Exports, a crucial component of Pakistan's economic activity, experienced a marginal dip of 4.35% month-on-month (MoM), reaching $2.573 billion compared to $2.69 billion in October 2023. On the import front, there was a notable decrease of 6.68% MoM, with imports totaling $4.539 billion in December 2023, down from $4.864 billion in October 2023.

When translated into Pakistani Rupees, provisional figures for November 2023 reveal that exports amounted to Rs734.541 billion (provisional), down from Rs754.07 billion in October 2023.

The breakdown of export commodities for November 2023 includes significant contributions from Knitwear (Rs100.765 billion), Rice Others (Rs99.24 billion), Readymade garments (Rs81.96 billion), Bed wear (Rs58.7 billion), Cotton Cloth (Rs39.274 billion), Cotton Yarn (Rs24.47 billion), Towels (Rs21.287 billion), Rice basmati (Rs17.429 billion), Madeup articles (excluding towels & bedwear) (Rs16.656 billion), and Oil seeds, nuts & kernels (Rs12.414 billion).

On the import side, November 2023 saw imports valued at Rs1.30 trillion (provisional), a decrease from Rs1.364 trillion in October 2023. Key imported commodities included Petroleum crude (Rs161.486 billion), Petroleum products (Rs142.589 billion), Natural gas, liquified (Rs82.715 billion), Palm oil (Rs60.225 billion), Iron & steel (Rs58.02 billion), Plastic Materials (Rs49.61 billion), Electric machinery & apparatus (Rs45.692 billion), Mobile phones (Rs41.843 billion), Wheat unmilled (Rs40.51 billion), and Iron and steel scrap (Rs32.5 billion).

This trade data reflects positively on Pakistan's economic stability, indicating effective measures to address the trade deficit.