Data released by PBS depicts final position: Razzak Dawood clarifies

January 6, 2022 (MLN): Amidst confusion about Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit numbers, Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment has explained on Thursday that why there exists a discrepancy between his tweeted figures on January 2, 2022, and actual figures released by PBS later.

Trade figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) depict the final position, he clarified.

In a series of Tweets, he informed, “Early figures are usually received in raw form as the goods are imported at various customs stations.

It is clarified that the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) usually releases the provisional pre-PBS, he added.

He further stated, “This data is compiled by the Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) which is processed further by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) & released in the first week of the month.”

As per the trade numbers revealed by Razzak Dawoon on January 2, 2022, imports during Dec 2021 stood at $6.9bn whereas the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) yesterday noted that the total import bill during the same month clocked in at $7.59bn.

On the export front, he shared that during Dec 2021, Pakistan’s exports increased to $2.761bn. However, the PBS data showed that exports are clocked in at $2.74bn. 

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