Islamabad: Pakistani exports witnessed an increase of four-percent in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, when compared to the figures of the same period last year – according to Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood.
He said that the total volume of exports surged to USD 13.259 billion.
Similarly, the country’s imports declined from USD 34.264 billion to USD 32.545 billion during the July-January (2018-19) period.
This activity has correspondingly led to a reduction of USD 2.1 billion in the country’s trade deficit. The government imposed regulatory duties on furnace oil and other items such as food & automobiles to bring about these improvements.
Furthermore, the import of hydel-machinery and other industrial items also decreased during the period under consideration. The sectors which witnessed a surge in exports included food, textile, and cement.
The adviser stressed on the need to reduce edible oil imports in order to maintain balance of trade. He informed that the government spent USD 3 billion for facilitating edible oil imports.
