Services exports are up 12.66% in September 2020 while trade deficit decreases

According to the statistics issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country’s services exports are up by 12.66% in September 2020 as compared to September 2019. The exports of services stood at $463 million in September 2020 while they were $411.12 million in the same month last year.

The imports of services however have decreased in September 2020. There was an import of $540 million worth of services in contrast to the $577.17 million worth of imports recorded in September 2019.

This has caused the trade deficit to decrease this month as well by more than 50%. The trade deficit stood at $166.05 million in September 2019 whereas it is only $76.84 million in September 2020.

The exports for the first quarter (Q1) of the Fiscal Year 2020-2021(FY 2020-21) were recorded to be $1,225.26 million as compared to $1,295.26 million in the same quarter of the last FY that shows a small decline in services exports. The imports however decreased drastically from $2,393.08 million in Q1 FY 2019-20 to only $1,764 million in Q1 FY 2020-21. The trade deficit of the respective quarters came down from $1,097.82 million to $538.87 million.

This is a good sign for Pakistan as the imports of services are continually decreasing. However, we need to increase our exports as well to eliminate the trade deficit.

Image Source: Time Communications