Pakistan’s trade deficit in services shrinks by 65% MoM in Nov’20

December 22, 2020 (MLN): Pakistan’s trade deficit in services witnessed a significant reduction in the month of November 2020 as it declined by 65% MoM to stand at $99 million against the deficit of $280 million recorded in October 2020.

According to the latest figures published by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country’s trade deficit plunged by 56% YoY when compared to a deficit of $223 million reported in November 2019.

During Jul-Nov FY21, the trade deficit in services improved by 38% to clock in at $925 million when compared to a deficit of $1.49 billion in Jul-Nov FY20 as imports of services plunged by 18% YoY to $3.08 billion while exports came down by 5.5% YoY to clock in at $2.16 billion during the period.

Going into details provided by SBP, the exports of services during November’20 amounted to $507 million, which is around 13% and 18% higher as compared to the exports of the previous year and the previous month respectively.

Amongst the total exports, Telecommunications, Computer and Information Services made the largest contribution with an amount of $168 million i.e. higher by 51% as compared to last year, followed by other Business Services at $129 million, up by 26.5% YoY and Government Goods and Services at $109 million in November’20.

Other segments that contributed significantly to the exports include Travel services, which brought in nearly $49 million during November’20, as well as Transport services, whose contribution amounted to $30 million.

On the contrary, the imports of services during the month amounted to $606 million i.e. lower by 10% YoY and 15 % MoM. Amongst the total imports, the largest expenditure was incurred in Transport services for an amount of $265 million, followed by other Business Services at $148 million.

Other major items imported during the month include Travel Services ($60 million), Telecommunications, Computer, and Information Services ($37 million), Insurance and Pension Services ($31 million) and Intellectual Property Charges ($23 million).

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