Trade in services has contributed close to $5.2 billion into our aggregate trade deficit during the last fiscal year 2018, increasing by $0.9 billion over the previous fiscal year.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistani companies and individuals, including the government, provided services worth $5.2 billion for entities that are based abroad. The country simultaneously utilised services from foreign entities worth approximately $10.4 billion, thereby leading to a trade deficit of about $5.2 billion from the trade of services.
Services provided by the government to foreign entities account for the largest source of revenue from the export of services incurred by the country, with the second largest source being the provision of telecommunication, computer and information services. According to data from PBS, Telecom services provided to foreign entities brought in $1.07 billion in revenues into the country.
Likewise, the service most utilized in terms of payments made to entities abroad includes services related to the transport and travel sector, as payments for the import of these services were recorded at $4.0 billion and $2.1 billion respectively for these sectors.
