According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports from Pakistan increased by 35.77 per cent in rupee terms during the first four months of the current fiscal year (2022-23) compared to the same time previous year.
According to Geo, exports from July through October (2022-23) were Rs2,131,776 million, up from Rs1,570,136 in the corresponding period the previous year. This represents a growth of 35.77 per cent.
In comparison to October 2021, when exports were Rs423,063 million, the country’s exports rose by 24.29 per cent to Rs525,831 million in October 2022.
When compared to the exports of Rs563,714 million reported in September 2022, the exports climbed by 6.72 per cent in October 2022 on a monthly basis.
The main commodities of exports during October 2022 were:
Knitwear (Rs86,400 million), readymade garments (Rs60,778 million), bedwear (Rs47,895 million), cotton cloth (Rs37,407 million), rice other than basmati (Rs20,344 million), towels (Rs17,553 million), made-up articles, excluding towels & Bedwear (Rs12,758 million), fish products (Rs12,057 million), rice Basmati (Rs11,375 million) and cotton yarn (Rs10,819 million).
On the other side, imports increased by 12.87 per cent from July through October 2022 to a total of Rs4,701,648 million, compared to Rs4,165,590 million during the same time previous year.
Imports totaled Rs1,039,036 million in October 2022 compared to Rs1,232,299 million in September 2022 and Rs1,093,545 million in October 2021, a drop of 15.68 per cent over September 2021 and 4.98 per cent over October 2021.
The major imports during October 2022 were:
Petroleum products (Rs100,436 million), petroleum crude (Rs82,124 million), natural gas, liquified (Rs65,485 million), palm oil (Rs59,739 million), plastic materials (Rs47,301 million), iron & steel (Rs38,517 million), raw cotton (Rs29,943 million), iron & steel scrap (Rs26,037 million), electrical machinery & apparatus (Rs24,058 million) and medicinal products (Rs23,234 million).
