ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (APP):The exports from the country witnessed an increase of 7.89 percent during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (2023-34) compared to the corresponding period of last year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

According to the latest PBS data, exports from the country increased upto $17.782 billion during July-January (2023-24) as against the exports of $16.481 billion in July-January (2022-23), showing a growth of 7.89 percent.

On the other hand, imports into the country declined by 14.11 percent to $30.949 billion this year against the imports of $36.034 billion last year.

Based on the figures, the trade deficit during the first seven months of current fiscal year was recorded at $13.167 billion against the deficit of $19.553 billion last year, showing a sharp decline of 32.66 percent.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the exports from the country increased by 24.72 per cent in January 2024 compared to the exports of the same month of last year. The exports during the month were recorded at $2.790 billion as against the exports of $2.237 billion in January 2023.

On the other hand, the imports during January 2024 were recorded at $4.737 billion compared to the imports of $4.826 billion in January 2023, showing a decrease of 1.84 per cent, according to the data.

On a month-on-month basis, the exports from the country decreased by 1.13 per cent when compared to the exports of $2.822 billion during December 2023.

The imports into the country went up by 1.87 per cent when compared to the imports of $4.650 billion in December 2023, PBS reported.

Meanwhile, the services’ exports during July-December (2023-24) earned foreign exchange worth $3,765 million as compared to exports of $3,870 million during the same period of last year, showing negative growth of 2.70 percent.

The services’ imports into the country however increased by 25.50 percent by going up from $4,140 million last year to $5,196 million during the first six months of current fiscal year.