Trade deficit widens by 11.6% MoM in March led by higher imports

April 04, 2022 (MLN): Pakistan's merchandise trade deficit for the month of March 2022 clocked in at $3.44 billion compared to a deficit of $3.1bn in the previous month, depicting an increase of 11.6% MoM as imports jumped by 11.6% MoM, data issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.

However, compared to the same month last year’s deficit of $3.26bn, the trade deficit soared by 5.5% YoY.

According to data released by the PBS, exports decreased by 3% to $2.74bn compared to $2.82bn in Feb’2022. While on yearly basis, the exports exhibited a growth of 16% from $2.36bn in March'21.

In terms of Rupees, exports from Pakistan during March'22 amounted to Rs493.5bn as against Rs497.6bn in Feb’22 and Rs368.9bn during March’21, showing a decline of 0.8% over last month and 33.8% over March'21.

On the other hand, imports in March’22 swelled by 4.7%, clocking in at $6.2bn compared to $5.9bn in the previous month.  While compared to the corresponding month previous year, the imports showed an increase of 9.8% from $5.6bn reported in March’21.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Spokesperson to Finance Minister Muzammil Aslam said that despite the higher oil, LNG & coal prices, the import bill was still well managed for the month of March at $6.19bn.

In Rupee terms, imports into Pakistan during the month under review amounted to Rs1.1tn as against Rs1tn in Feb’22 and Rs878.6bn during March’21, indicating a jump of 6.9% over last month and a jump of 26.8% over March’21.

Cumulatively, during July-March FY22, Pakistan’s trade deficit was $35.39bn compared to a deficit of $20.8bn in the corresponding period of FY21, showing am increase of 70% YoY.

Exports during 9MFY22 have increased by 24.7% to stand at $23.3bn, while imports during the period showed a growth of 48.6%, up from $39.5bn in 9MFY21 to $58.7bn.

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