IT Export Reduces By 10% In Pakistan; Exported $206M In September

The IT export remittances declined by 0.3 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2022-23 and remained at $633 million compared to $635 million during the same period of the last fiscal year. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data shows that IT exports remittances declined by around 10 percent on a month-on-month (MoM) basis in September 2022 and remained at $206 million compared to $228 million in August 2022.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the sector exports remittances decreased by around 5 percent compared to $215 million in September 2021. ICT export remittances, including telecommunication, computer, and information services, reached an all-time high of $2.616 billion, a growth rate of 47.43 percent in the fiscal year 2021-22 compared to $2.108 billion in the fiscal year 2020-21.

Federal Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication Syed Aminul Haque has stated in the past that the IT exports target of $5 billion would be achieved by June 2023. He further said that the government is taking all possible steps to ensure a long-term IT industry growth trajectory and enhance IT industry exports to $5 billion by 2023.

The spokesperson of the ministry stated that more than 6,000 Pakistan-based IT companies were providing IT products and services to entities in over 100 countries. Strong incentives are being provided to the IT industry, and there are several projects intended to facilitate and assist the IT industry in its growth trajectory and to ensure continued upward momentum in local and export earnings, the spokesperson added

The first month of this fiscal year (2022-2023) was great for Pakistan’s IT export sector as it earned $199.100 million by providing different Information Technology (IT) services in various countries largely comprising of Freelancer payments. This shows a growth of 1.58 percent as compared with the $ 195.996 million earned through the provision of services during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year 2021-22, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

During the first month, i.e. July, computer services grew by 5.77 percent as they surged from $150.456 million last year to $159.140 million during July 2022. The computer services exports of software consultancy services witnessed a decrease of 27.40 percent, from $0.219 million to $0.159 million this year while the export of hardware consultancy services however increased by 8.77 percent, from $53.830 million to the $58.551 million

Pakistan’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sectors are expected to continue getting this growth as it already has witnessed remarkable growth over the past decade, boasting an average annual revenue growth rate of 20-30 percent. A report by AlphaBeta has found that if leveraged fully, digital technologies could create up to Rs9.7 trillion ($59.7 billion) worth of economic value annually in Pakistan by 2030.

Over the last decade, Pakistan has emerged as one of the fastest-growing IT exporters in the world. It is one of the few industries that provide tangible benefits to the country without importing anything.

In the Fiscal Year, 2022(FY22) Pakistani IT industry made a record-breaking remittance in the IT sector of $2.616 billion, shattering the records of all the previous years. Last year revenue from the IT sector of Pakistan was $2.108 billion, which has increased by 24% this year.

The Government of Pakistan has set a target of $5 billion for the next year, FY23. The Government holds massive plans for the upcoming years for the IT industry of Pakistan.