Exports contract 4pc in October

The downward trend in Pakistan merchandise export proceeds continued for the second consecutive month, raising fears about the closure of industrial units across the country, suggested provisional data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics released on Wednesday. The country’s exports shrank 3.77 per cent in October to $2.37 billion from $2.64bn in the corresponding month last year. On a month-on-month basis, export proceeds decreased by 3.07pc. The exports started posting negative growth in the first month of the current fiscal year — July — barring August when a slight increase was recorded because of the backlog of the preceding month. Export contraction is a worrisome factor, which will create problems in balancing the country’s external account. However, the total export proceeds stood at $9.54bn in July-October against $9.46bn in the corresponding period last year, indicating a meagre rise of 0.94pc. The paltry growth shows that it will be difficult in the current fiscal year to achieve the export target.