Pakistan Trade deficit at record $30bn in FY2021

July 23, 2021

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Pakistan’s import and export activity returned to multi-year highs in the fiscal year ending June 30, after government policies stepped up economic activity to avoid the pressure of the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the fiscal year 2021, the trade deficit widened significantly to $ 30 billion. Imports have grown strongly compared to the growth in export earnings.

Total imports increased 17.6% to $ 61.6 billion (including imports of services) in the fiscal year 2021, up from $ 54.4 billion in the fiscal year 2020.

Export proceeds rose to an eight-year high of $ 31.6 billion, boosted by record exports of technology and textiles.

However, export revenue growth remained minimal compared to imports growth, leading to a huge $ 30 billion trade deficit in the fiscal year 2021.

Technology exports rose 47 percent to $ 2.1 billion in the fiscal year 2021, up from $ 1.4 billion in the fiscal year 2020. Technology exports were 36 percent of total services exports in the Fiscal year 2021.