Trade deficit widens by 181% in April

For the second month in a row, Pakistan’s trade deficit multiplied and clocked in at $2.4 billion in April, which was 181% more than the same month of the last year due to dismal performance of exports and an uptick in imports. The monthly trade bulletin provides insight into how the country’s external trade would fare if imports were unrestricted. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Thursday that the gap between exports and imports widened by 181% to $2.4 billion in April compared to a year ago. In absolute terms, the trade deficit increased by $1.6 billion, which is more than half the size of the recently concluded International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme. The PBS reported that, on a year-on-year basis, in April exports amounted to $2.4 billion, up by $214 million or 10% compared to the same month last year. Despite benefiting from subsidies for decades, cheaper loans, nearly income-tax-free export earnings, and reduced gas rates, exporters have disappointed with an average monthly export performance of around $2.5 billion.