Exports to nine regional states dip over 14pc

The first month of the current fiscal year saw a decline of 14.55 per cent in exports to nine regional countries, mainly driven by a drop in shipments to China, data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan showed. The country’s exports to Afghanistan, China, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Iran, Nepal, Bhutan and the Maldives dipped to $260.983 million — just 12.62pc of total exports of $2.068bn in July. The decline is not confined to exports but imports especially from China also saw a steep decline in July from a year ago. In FY23, exports to regional countries dipped 21.1pc to $3.331bn on a year-on-year basis. Pakistan’s bulk of the regional exports share, which accounts for 60pc, is with China while the rest is with the remaining eight countries. Exports to China declined 15.32pc to $147.385m in July from $174.056m over the corresponding month of last year. In FY23, the exports to China declined 27.3pc to $2.02 from $2.78bn in FY22. It was the first decrease in the post-Covid period.