ISLAMABAD: During the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the trade deficit of the country increased by 70 per cent compared to last year, as per the data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
According to PBS, the deficit stood at $35.39 billion from July-March of the fiscal year-2022. In the fiscal year-2021 (from July-March), the trade deficit was recorded at $20.80 billion. The data further revealed that only in March a deficit of $3.44 billion was reported; 11.63pc greater than February’s deficit and 5.48pc more than March 2021 trade deficit value.
The surge in imports was highlighted as the prime reason for the increasing trade deficit. In March, the imports closed at $6.18 billion after a hike of 9.86pc compared to last year. From July-March, the imports soared to $58.7 billion.
