Trade deficit shrinks by 78% YoY in April

May 02, 2023 (MLN): Pakistan's merchandise trade deficit for the month of April 2023 clocked in at $829 million compared to a deficit of $3.76bn in April 2022, plummeting by 78% YoY while on a sequential basis, the deficit shrank by 42.6% MoM from $1.84bn in February 2023, the revised data for April issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed today. 

The decline in trade deficit is due to the falling imports as the import bill for the month of March stood at $2.95bn, slashed by 55.67% YoY and 22.62% MoM, reflecting the impact of import restrictions lately.

Amidst economic slowdown in the country’s major export market, energy shortages, and frequent closure of local manufacturing units, the exports registered a decrease of 26.68% YoY and 10.46% MoM to $2.12bn during the review period.

Cumulatively, within 10MFY23, the trade deficit stood at $23.71bn, narrowed by 39.62% YoY compared to the deficit of $39.72bn recorded in the same period last year.

Copyright Mettis Link News