ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit increased 16% to nearly $15 billion during the first four months of this fiscal year after imports hit $26b amid continued sluggish export growth, a gap that may keep Islamabad dependent on foreign creditors longer than planned. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Friday that the gap between imports and exports widened to $14.6b during July to October, $2b or 16% more than the same period last year. The factors behind the peak deficit remained unchanged: a surge in imports averaging $6.5b a month and sluggish exports averaging $2.8b a month. The figures were released two days after Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb disclosed that Pakistan had secured yet another rollover of $3b in debt from Saudi Arabia last month. Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal told a parliamentary committee that external debt repayments were estimated at $21.5b, of which the government would seek $10.5b in rollovers of bilateral and commercial debt. Web Desk
Beyond these rollovers, the government remains in constant search of new foreign loans to build reserves, which are already the product of foreign borrowing and the central bank’s domestic purchases of foreign currency.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has promised that the 25th International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, ending next September, would be the last in the nation’s history, a vow that will face its real test before the next general elections.
Official data showed imports jumped to $26 billion in the first four months, higher by $2.9 billion or 12.5%. For the current fiscal year, the central bank has projected imports rising to $71 billion on the back of higher energy import bills.
The PBS said cumulative exports during July to October increased to $11.4 billion, a rise of just $890 million or 8.5% over the same period last year. The government has tried everything in its toolkit to lift exports to a level that reduces dependence on foreign creditors.
