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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
**ISLAMABAD, Feb. 9 (APD) ** – Pakistan’s export increased by 11.11 percent during first seven months of the fiscal year July 2017-June 2018 as compared to exports during the same period of the preceding year, an official data said Friday.
According to a statement from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the exports rose to 12.966 billion U.S. dollars during July-January 2017-18 against the exports worth of 11.67 billion U.S. dollars during the same period of the year 2016-17.
The imports into the country also witnessed an increase of 18.92 percent as it jumped to 34.512 billion U.S. dollars in July-January 2017-18 from 29.18 billion U.S. dollars in the same period of previous year.
The trade deficit during the period under review, however, expanded by 24.18 percent to 21.54 billion U.S. dollars as compared to the trade deficit of 17.35 billion U.S. dollars in first seven months of the fiscal year 2016-17.
Surge in imports was mainly due to the import of heavy machinery and other raw material for CPEC related industrial and energy sector projects in Pakistan which will have long-term positive impact on national economy as due to construction of industries with the Chinese support, more export-oriented value-added products would be manufactured in the country, the statement said.
On the year-on-year basis, the country's exports during January 2018 rose to $1.97 percent from 1.77 billion U.S. dollars in January 2017 thus registering an increase of 11.04 percent.
Similarly, import during the period under review also jumped to 5.6 billion U.S. dollars from 4.7 billion U.S. dollars in January 2017, posting an increase of 19.37 percent.
The trade deficit during January 2018 expanded by 24.44 percent as it rose to 3.636 billion U.S. dollars from 2.922 billion U.S. dollars.
On monthly basis, the exports decreased by 0.3 percent while the import increased by 14.2 percent, thus expanding the trade deficit by 23.97 percent.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
