Moaaz Manzoor

Pakistan’s exports increased sharply to Rs855,525 million in January 2026 as against Rs635,746 million in December 2025, and Rs822,410 million during January 2025, showing an increase of 34.57% and 4.03% respectively, reports Wealth Pakistan.

According to the provisional figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), in dollar terms, exports totaled $3,056 million in January 2026, compared to $2,268 million in December 2025 and $2,951 million in January 2025. This reflects an increase of 34.74% over December 2025 and of 3.56% over January 2025.

However, when looking at the broader period of July to January 2025-26, exports showed a decline. During these seven months, exports totaled Rs5,120,943 million, compared to Rs5,447,859 million during the same period last year, showing a decrease of 6.00%.

In dollar terms, exports during July–January 2025-26 stood at $18,190 million, down 7.11% from $19,583 million recorded a year earlier.

The main export items in January 2026 included readymade garments worth Rs121,818 million, knitwear worth Rs119,897 million, bed wear worth Rs86,381 million, Basmati rice worth Rs55,840 million, rice other than Basmati worth Rs46,620 million, cotton cloth worth Rs46,219 million, towels worth Rs32,569 million, made-up articles excluding towels and bed wear worth Rs22,674 million, cotton yarn worth Rs20,574 million, and petroleum products excluding top naphtha worth Rs18,822 million.

On the import side, imports amounted to Rs1,629,640 million as against Rs1,707,035 million in December 2025 and Rs1,635,355 million during January 2025, showing a decrease of 4.53% and 0.35% respectively.

In dollar terms, imports stood at $5,813 million in January 2026, compared to $6,081 million in December 2025, showing a decrease of 4.41% over December 2025 and of 0.95% as compared to $5,869 million in January 2025.

During July–January 2025-26, total imports were Rs11,345,029 million, compared to Rs10,230,768 million in the same period last year, showing an increase of 10.89%. In dollar terms, imports during the period totaled $40,260 million, up 9.49% from $36,771 million a year earlier.

Based on these figures, the trade deficit in January 2026 stood at (-) Rs774,095 million and (-) $2,757 million. The cumulative trade deficit during July–January 2025-26 was recorded at (-) Rs6,224,066 million and (-) $22,070 million.

Credit: INP-WealthPk