By Farooq Awan

Pakistan’s services exports recorded a strong increase of 31.12% to $885.09 million in January FY2025-26, while cumulative exports reached $5.66 billion during July-January FY2025-26, according to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan’s (TDAP) Monthly Trade Report for February 2026.

The report shows that services exports increased from $675.03 million in January FY2024-25 to $885.09 million in January FY2025-26, reflecting a year-on-year rise of over $210 million during the month under review.

On a cumulative basis, services exports grew by 18.78% to $5.66 billion during July-January FY2025-26, compared to $4.76 billion in the corresponding period of last fiscal year. The increase indicates a consistent upward movement in services export earnings over the period.

At the same time, services imports also registered growth during both the monthly and cumulative periods. In January FY2025-26, services imports stood at $1.19 billion, up from $965.08 million in the same month last year, reflecting an increase of 23.29%.

Cumulatively, services imports rose to $7.73 billion during July-January FY2025-26 from $6.58 billion in the corresponding period of FY2024-25, indicating an increase of 17.46%.

As a result, the services trade balance remained in deficit during the period under review. The services trade deficit for January FY2025-26 stood at $304.80 million, compared to $290.05 million in January FY2024-25, reflecting an increase of 5.09% on a year-on-year basis.

On a cumulative basis, the services trade deficit widened to $2.07 billion during July-January FY2025-26, compared to $1.82 billion in the same period last fiscal year, indicating an increase of 14.00%.

The data shows that while services exports increased significantly, services imports also continued to rise during the period, contributing to the expansion of the services trade deficit.

A comparison of monthly and cumulative figures indicates that both exports and imports in the services sector recorded higher values during the current fiscal year compared to the previous year. The increase in services exports in January FY2025-26 represents one of the strongest monthly gains during the period under review.

The report further indicates that the overall services trade performance during July-January FY2025-26 reflects simultaneous growth in both export earnings and import expenditure within the sector.

According to the TDAP report, the services trade figures are based on provisional data compiled from sources including the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), Web-Based One Customs (WeBOC), and Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL), and are subject to revision.

Credit: INP-WealthPk