ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 44 percent in July 2025, driven by a sharp increase in imports that outpaced the growth in exports, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday. The figures point to renewed stress on the country’s external accounts at the outset of the new fiscal year.
Exports rose 16.9 percent year-on-year to $2.7 billion in July, also marking an 8.9 percent rise from the previous month. However, imports surged 29.3 percent compared to July last year, reaching $5.4 billion—a 12.4 percent increase from June. This pushed the monthly trade deficit to $2.75 billion, up from $1.91 billion in July 2024 and $2.37 billion the previous month.
For the fiscal year 2024-25, the overall trade gap expanded by 9.3 percent to $26.35 billion. Total exports during the year stood at $32 billion, showing a 4.5 percent increase, while imports grew by 6.6 percent to $58.4 billion.
Meanwhile, the PBS also released the services trade statistics for FY2024-25. Pakistan saw a notable improvement in its services trade balance, with the deficit narrowing by 15.84 percent to $2.62 billion, compared to $3.1 billion in the previous fiscal year.
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In FY25, the country exported services worth $8.4 billion—an increase of 9.23 percent from $7.68 billion in FY24. On the other hand, imports of services rose modestly by 2.01 percent to $11 billion, up from $10.8 billion last year.
The data highlights moderate gains in exports of both goods and services, though import growth—likely tied to increased industrial activity and energy needs—continues to weigh on the overall trade balance.