Farooq Awan

Pakistan’s trade deficit widened significantly in October as imports posted a sharp rise while exports recorded a year-on-year decline, according to the Monthly Trade Report for October 2025 issued by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). The report shows that goods exports for October were recorded at 2,849 million dollars compared with 2,982 million dollars in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year, reflecting a fall of 4.46 percent.

During the same month, goods imports rose markedly to 6,057 million dollars from 5,040 million dollars a year earlier, showing an increase of 20.18 percent. The widening gap between exports and imports pushed the trade balance deeper into negative territory. The goods trade deficit for October stood at 3,208 million dollars compared with 2,058 million dollars in October last year, showing a rise of 55.88 percent.

The trend remained similar in the four-month period from July to October of the current fiscal year. Goods exports during this period amounted to 10,448 million dollars, lower than 10,888 million dollars recorded in the same period of last fiscal year, reflecting a decline of 4.04 percent. On the other hand, goods imports rose to 23,030 million dollars in July–October 2025-26 compared with 20,003 million dollars in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, up 15.13 percent.

The overall trade balance for the first four months of the fiscal year showed a deficit of 12,582 million dollars, up from 9,115 million dollars in the previous year’s corresponding period. The report also includes data on the services sector for September, which is the latest month for which figures were available. Services exports for September 2025-26 totaled 796.73 million dollars compared with 662.52 million dollars in September 2024-25, registering an increase of 20.26 percent.

Services imports during the same month stood at 995.23 million dollars, higher than 964.67 million dollars in the previous year, showing a rise of 3.17 percent. For July–September, services exports amounted to 2,199.12 million dollars, up from 1,914.85 million dollars recorded in the corresponding months of the previous fiscal year. Services imports for the same period reached 3,129.59 million dollars, compared with 2,814.80 million dollars last year.

The services trade deficit in September was 198.50 million dollars, lower than the deficit of 302.15 million dollars recorded in the same month of the previous fiscal year. Over the July–September period, the services deficit widened slightly to 930.47 million dollars compared with 899.95 million dollars a year earlier. The figures in the report reflect a combination of weaker export performance in goods and sustained demand for imported products. The import bill remained elevated across major categories, while exports showed declines in several key markets and sectors during the month under review, as well as the cumulative period.

Credit: INP-WealthPk