Pakistan's Trade Dynamics in December: A Breakdown by PBS

Karobar Karobar
Jan 20, 2024 - 12:39 Updated: Jan 20, 2024 - 12:45
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Pakistan's Trade Dynamics in December: A Breakdown by PBS

The latest data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reveals a noteworthy shift in the country's trade performance for December, with a revised trade deficit of $1.83 billion. This marks a 7% improvement from the previous month's deficit of $1.97 billion. Furthermore, compared to December 2022, the trade deficit has witnessed a substantial reduction of 35.7%.

In the export sector, December showcased a positive trend, witnessing a 9.68% month-on-month (MoM) increase, reaching $2.82 billion—compared to $2.57 billion in November 2023. On the flip side, imports for December 2023 experienced a modest 2.45% MoM rise, amounting to $4.65 billion in contrast to the $4.54 billion recorded in November 2023.

Examining the data in Pakistani Rupees, December's exports totaled Rs799.6 billion, reflecting an 8.86% MoM increase from November 2023's Rs734.54 billion and an impressive 54.59% year-on-year (YoY) growth compared to December 2022's Rs517.24 billion.

Key export commodities for December 2023 included Rice Others (Rs124.04 billion), Knitwear (Rs103.9 billion), Readymade garments (Rs8.57 billion), Bed wear (Rs64.12 billion), Cotton Cloth (Rs40.68 billion), Cotton Yarn (Rs26.98 billion), Towels (Rs24.81 billion), Rice basmati (Rs22.89 billion), Madeup articles (excl. towels & bedwear.) (Rs17 billion), and Meat and meat preparations (Rs12.47 billion).

On the import front, December 2023 saw a total of Rs1.32 trillion, indicating a 1.66% MoM increase from November 2023's Rs1.3 trillion and a substantial 13.94% YoY growth from December 2022's Rs1.16 trillion.

Key imported commodities for December 2023 encompassed Petroleum crude (Rs158.26 billion), Petroleum products (Rs150.89 billion), Natural gas, liquified (Rs109.52 billion), Electric machinery & apparatus (Rs63.67 billion), Palm oil (Rs60.32 billion), Plastic Materials (Rs52.22 billion), Mobile phones (Rs49.89 billion), Iron & steel (Rs41.65 billion), Iron and steel scrap (Rs30.43 billion), and Motor cars (ckd/skd) (Rs29.54 billion).