Pakistan’s trade deficit increased by 143% in May.

According to the latest statistics issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, Pakistan’s trade deficit increased by 142.91 percent month on month in May 2023, reaching $2.089 billion from $860 million in April 2023.

However, the trade deficit shrank by 40.59 percent to $25.791 billion in the first eleven months of the current fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23), compared to $43.409 billion in the same period previous year.

According to PBS trade data, the country’s exports during July-May FY23 were $25.366 billion, a 12.14 percent decrease from the previous year’s exports of $28.871 billion.

Imports fell by 29.22 percent over the 11-month period, from $72.280 billion last year to $51.157 billion this year.

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Exports fell 16.69 percent year on year to $2.186 billion in May 2023, compared to $2.624 billion in May 2022.

Imports fell by 36.76 percent to $4.275 billion in May 2023 from $6.760 billion in May 2022. The trade deficit shrank by 49.49 percent year on year to $2.089 billion in May 2023, from $4.136 billion in May 2022.

Exports climbed by 2.29 percent month on month in May 2023 compared to April 2023 exports of $2.137 billion. According to the report, imports into the country grew by 42.64 percent in May 2023 when compared to imports of $2.997 billion in April 2023.