Pakistan’s imports from India have reportedly surged to a three-year high during the first eleven months of fiscal year (FY) 2024-25 amid heightened tensions following India’s unwarranted aggression in May 2025 and the continued suspension of formal trade relations since 2019.

 

Figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan indicate that imports from India totalled $211.5 million during the first 11 months of FY 2024-25. This marks an increase from the $207 million import figure during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year and $190 million the fiscal year before. 

 

According to reports, imports from India were valued at $15 million, just slightly below the $17 million recorded in May last year. It merits mention that imports in May 2025 remained high despite the significant escalation in tensions between Pakistan and India. 

 

In contrast, Pakistan’s exports to India remained abysmally low, as domestic exporters managed to export only $1,000 worth of goods in May 2025 to India. This figure grows if the first 11 months of FY 2024-25 are considered as total exports reached just $0.5 million. In the previous two fiscal years, the figures stood low as well, at $3.44 million and $0.33 million.

 

Reports indicate that traders have remained hesitant to speak openly about the flow of goods during the conflict. A trader suggested the goods may have been ordered before the hostilities began and possibly arrived via the involvement of other countries.

 

While official trade remains limited, Indian analysts claim the actual volume is far higher. The Global Trade Research Initiative, a New Delhi-based research group, estimated last month that informal exports from India to Pakistan total around $10 billion each year. Much of that trade reportedly moves through intermediaries in Colombo, Dubai and Singapore.

 

Reports suggest that Pakistan’s reliance on imported raw materials, along with high production costs, makes unofficial imports difficult to control. An exporter has reportedly highlighted how local manufacturing is too expensive in Pakistan, which could pave the way for countries like India, Bangladesh and China to flood the domestic market with smuggled goods.

 

Since the aforementioned countries have a lower average cost of production, smuggled goods from these destinations seem attractive to local customers given the lower tags that come with the smuggled goods.