Trade deficit narrows by 39pc: The News

By Aftab Maken

ISLAMABAD: The negative growth in exports and imports in the first two months of new financial year has also registered a negative trade deficit of nearly 40 per cent when compared with the corresponding period of last year.

The trade deficit for the first two months of current fiscal stood at $2.19 billion registering a decrease of around 39 per cent than $3.56 billion recorded in the same period of last fiscal, the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) said on Friday.

The shortage of major commodities and the imports of the commodities at relatively higher prices will definitely push the trade deficit and it would also be again in double digit, fears a trade analyst.

The government last week announced importing of nearly one million tons raw sugar for building its strategic reserves because of anticipated shortfall of nearly 1.5 million tons sweetener for the coming season, which starts from October. The Ministry of Food & Agriculture has also recommended import of 0.4 million tons urea fertilizer for Rabi crops. The current pace of the exports clearly reveals that the $18.84 billion export target for 2009-10 is unlikely to be achieved and the country’s exports will hover around the last year’s figure of $17.78 billion, the analyst added.

During July-August 2009, Pakistan’s exports registered the double digit negative growth totaling $2.96 billion while the imports of $5.16 billion against $3.44 billion and $7.00 billion, have been recorded respectively during the same period last year, said the data, adding that imports were 26.32 per cent less than the same period of last fiscal, while exports also registered a negative growth of 13.78 per cent.

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