Pakistan's trade deficit hits all-time high in November

Pakistan saw a steep rise of 162.4 per cent in trade deficit in the month of November of the current fiscal year (FY22) due to an increase in imports compared to exports from the country, according to provisional data released on Wednesday.

This trend in the trade deficit was witnessed for the fifth consecutive month as merchandise trade deficit reached USD 5.107 billion in November against USD 1.946bn over the corresponding month last year, Dawn newspaper reported.

The Pakistani publication said that this is the highest trade deficit recorded in a single month in terms of value.

According to Dawn, the current year started with a rising import bill which poses a serious threat putting pressure on the external side. In November, the import bill reached an all-time high of USD 8.01bn from USD 4.12bn over the corresponding month last year, indicating an increase of 94.41 per cent.

Razak Dawood, adviser to the Pakistan Prime Minister on Commerce said that data on imports was being analysed and would be shared shortly. The advisor only shared data on export proceeds in November to portray a positive image of the Imran Khan government.

"The data on imports is being analysed and will be shared shortly," Dawood tweeted.

The country's finance ministry believes that an increase in remittances, growth in export proceeds and Roshan Digital Accounts will largely help deal with the situation.

In the financial year 2018, Pakistan's trade deficit had reached an all-time high of USD 37.7bn. But it later recorded a drop to USD 31.8bn in FY19 and USD 23.183bn in FY20.

This trend, however, has reversed and the trade deficit stood at USD 30.796bn in FY21.

( With inputs from ANI )

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