Abdul Ghani

Pakistan’s services sector recorded a notable rise in exports during September, although the overall services trade balance remained in deficit, according to the Monthly Trade Report for October 2025 released by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). The report presents the latest compiled data on the services sector, covering September and the July–September quarter.

According to the report, Pakistan’s services exports for September 2025-26 stood at 796.73 million dollars, compared with 662.52 million dollars in September of the previous fiscal year, showing an increase of 20.26 percent. Services imports during the same month amounted to 995.23 million dollars, up from 964.67 million dollars a year earlier, reflecting an increase of 3.17 percent.

This resulted in a services trade deficit of 198.50 million dollars for September, lower than the deficit of 302.15 million dollars in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year, representing a decrease of 34.30 percent. For the cumulative July–September period, Pakistan’s services exports reached 2,199.12 million dollars, compared with 1,914.85 million dollars in the same quarter last year, indicating an increase of 14.85 percent.

Services imports for the same period totaled 3,129.59 million dollars compared with 2,814.80 million dollars last year, reflecting an increase of 11.18 percent. The services trade deficit for July–September stood at 930.47 million dollars, compared with 899.95 million dollars during the previous fiscal year’s corresponding period, showing a rise of 3.39 percent.

The report notes that the services sector continues to contribute significantly to Pakistan’s external trade flows, with export growth outpacing previous performance during the month of September. However, higher imports continued to keep the overall balance in negative territory for the month as well as for the cumulative period.  The services data presented in the report is based on provisional figures compiled from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and other official sources.

The report also indicates that these figures are subject to revision as final numbers become available. The increase in services exports during September was accompanied by a comparatively smaller rise in services imports, resulting in a narrower deficit for the month compared with last year. The broader trade context from the goods sector, which is also included in the report, shows similar patterns of rising imports and a wider overall trade deficit during the July–October period.

However, the services sector continues to show relatively stronger year-on-year growth in exports, contributing positively to the overall trade performance. The TDAP report states that these services-related figures were compiled as part of regular monthly trade monitoring and that all data included is provisional and based on information available up to November 17, 2025.

Credit: INP-WealthPk