ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood on Monday said the government’s decisions pertaining to the economy have started yielding positive results and imports have decreased.
Addressing a news conference, the adviser to the PM on commerce said, “We saved $2 billion on imports in the last seven months.”
“Exports in the first seven months of the current fiscal year remained $13.259 billion while imports stood at $32.54 billion as compared to $34.26 billion during the corresponding period last year,” he added. “The trade deficit has reduced from $21.3 billion to $19.2 billion dollars.”
Razak Dawood further said, “Exports have registered an increase of four percent in dollars in the last seven months and this translates to a 30 percent increase in terms of Pakistani rupee.”
The adviser to the premier on commerce continued, “The result of currency devaluation will be visible on export trajectory in the coming five months.” “The ban on the import of furnace oil and non-essential food items benefited the economy,” he shared.
Expressing confidence that exports will increase while imports will further decrease this year, Razak Dawood said, “Cement exports have registered an increase of 50 percent, mainly to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”
“The policy of squeezing imports is paying dividends and its results will be far more encouraging in the next five months,” the adviser to the premier said.
Responding to a question, the adviser rejected reports that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief during recent talks with Prime Minister Imran Khan in Dubai set the condition to raise power and gas tariff to receive the bailout package.
