Services trade deficit shrinks 43pc in FY20

Dunya News

The country's deficit in July 2020 stood at $1.640 billion

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The country s services trade deficit witnessed sharp decline of 42.96 percent during the financial year 2019-20 as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

During the period under review, the country s services exports declined by 8.66 percent, whereas services  imports narrowed by 24.25 percent, according to trade statistics released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The exports were recorded at $5.449 billion, as against the exports of $5.966 billion during the same period of last year. Similarly, services  imports went down from $10.936 billion to $8.284 billion.

Based on the figures, the country s services trade deficit during the period under review was recorded at $2.834 billion, as against the deficit of $4.969 billion during last year.

On a year-on-year basis, the country s exports decreased by 9.86 percent in June 2020 as compared to the same month of last year. The exports during June 2020 were recorded at $402.04 million, as against the exports of $446 million in June 2019.

The imports also witnessed a decrease of 19.73 percent, from $789.94 million in June 2019 to $634.10 million in June 2020.

On a month-on-month basis, the services  exports from the country increased by 5.51 percent in June 2020 when compared to the exports of $381.03 million in May 2020. On the other hand, imports into the country increased by 61.36 percent in June 2020 when compared to the imports of $392.98 million in February.

Meanwhile, Pakistan s merchandize trade deficit witnessed a reduction of 10.24pc during the first month (July) of the current fiscal year (2020-21), as compared to the corresponding month of last year.

The country s deficit in July 2020 stood at $1.640 billion, as against the deficit of $1.827 billion in July 2019.

During the month under review, Pakistan s exports registered an increase of 6.04 percent, from $1.886 billion last year to $2 billion, whereas imports declined from $3.713 billion to $3.640 billion (1.97 percent)