ISLAMABAD: Get ready for the highest ever trade deficit in the history of Pakistan because recent statistics have confirmed that the merchandise trade deficit rose nearly 35 per cent year-on-year to $20.202 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year so far.
The trade deficit has been on an upward trajectory for many years owing to the liberalisation of the import regime while exports continue to remain stagnant.
In 2000-01, Pakistan’s trade deficit was $1.527bn, which rose to $22.159bn in 2014-15. The import bill was $45.826bn in 2014-15. The deficit stood at $2.807bn in February, a rise of 87.88pc from a year ago, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed on Saturday.
In case the trend remains the same, the trade deficit will reach $28bn by the end of June.