Government to miss export target by over USD 3 billion

The government during the current fiscal year would miss the target fixed for the exports by bigger margin as the cost of doing business remained high and Pakistani lost competitiveness in the world market against its peers.

The exports in fiscal year 2016-17 might settle around 21.7 billion dollars as against target of 24.8 billion dollars set at the start of the running fiscal year.

Pakistan exports during the last fiscal year settled at 22 billion dollars. When this government came into power the exports reached its optimum level of 25 billion dollars but since then it is falling and three years period, exports recorded an evaporation of almost 3 billion dollars.

Imports in the current fiscal year would reach 45.7 billion dollars as against target of 45.2 billion dollars set at the start of the fiscal year. During 2015-16 the imports stood around 40.5 billion dollars. Imports are higher as machinery other inputs and power generating machines are coming under the umbrella of CPEC which would ballooned the trade deficit. As against target of 20.4 billion dollars earmarked for trade deficit, the deficit would be 24 billion dollars, according to the government estimate for the current fiscal year.