Trade deficit widens 56pc to $2.17bn in March

Pakistan’s merchandise export growth in March slowed to 7.99 per cent after posting double-digit increases in the preceding three months. In absolute terms, the export reached $2.55 billion in March, up 7.99pc from $2.36bn over the corresponding month of last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday. The trade deficit widened year-on-year by 56.30pc to $2.17bn in March. However, the overall trade gap in the first nine months of the current fiscal year narrowed by 24.94pc to $17.03bn compared to $22.68bn in the corresponding period last year. The IMF’s first review of the $3bn Stand-by Arrangement projects Pakistan’s export proceeds over the next five years to be much less than the commerce ministry’s ambitious target of $100 bn by the end of FY28.