Pakistan’s exports of merchandise shrank for the seventh month in a row dipping by 14.76 per cent year-on-year to $2.36 billion in March, reflecting fear of massive layoffs in the export sector of the country. In the first nine months (July to March) of 2022-23, exports were down 9.87pc at $21.04bn compared to $23.35bn in the corresponding period last year, according to data released by the Pak
The country has produced 34 per cent less cotton this year as compared with the crop yield last season, reveals data with Pakistan Cotton Ginners Association (PCGA). The final figures for the crop year 2022-23 show that Pakistan produced 4,912,069 bales, the lowest in around four decades, of cotton against 7,441,833 in the 2021-22 season, a year-on-year decline of 2,528,764 bales or 34pc loss.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has decided to hike the policy rate by 100 basis points (bps) to 21 per cent, its highest-ever level, according to a press release issued on Tuesday. The announcement came after a meeting of the bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). “The MPC noted that inflation in March 2023 rose further to 35.4pc, and is expected to remain high in the near term. However, the
Former central bank chief Dr Reza Baqir said on Tuesday debt restructuring for Pakistan will be “very difficult as a process” given that most of its foreign loans are “very hard to restructure”. “All the warning signs are there that the process will be difficult because of the type of debt that dominates on the balance sheet of Pakistan,” said Dr Baqir who stepped down as governor of the State
While slamming another 100 basis points hike in the benchmark interest rate to a record 21 per cent, the business community on Tuesday questioned the government’s approach of fighting inflation by jacking up lending rates saying the strategy has failed to produce desired results but slowed down economic activities. “The entire business community has refused to accept the 100 basis points hike i