ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit with Indonesia has increased more than one hundred percent during the last five years. In the financial year 2011-12, the trade deficit was $799 million which increased to $1,849 million during previous fiscal year.
Moreover, the gap between the imports and exports also increased with the passage of time as imports increased from $996 million in 2011-12 to $1,989 million in last financial year. Main Pakistani imports from Indonesia include vegetable fats and oil, coal, Briquettes, coke, vegetable and synthetic textile fiber, chemical elements, paper and paper board, fruit and fruit preparation including fruit, yarn and thread of synthetic fibre, machinery and others.
Similarly, exports also decreased over the years from Pakistan to Indonesia as tune of Pakistani exports to Indonesia in financial year 2011-12 was $ 217 million which lowered to $ 140 million in the last fiscal year. Major Pakistani exports to Indonesia include Cotton fabrics, cotton yarn, raw cotton, rice, mandarin, fish and fish preparation, cereals and cereal preparation and knitted fabric etc.
A well placed source at Ministry of Commerce (MoC) told Customs Today that total trade volume between both the countries also increased from $1378 million in FY 2011-12 to $ 2129 million in previous financial year. “The trade balance remained tilted towards Indonesia despite the higher claims of MoC for taking measures for enhancing exports to the countries lying the far east region” the source observed.
In this regard, data available with this scribe reveals that the lowest tune of Pakistani exports to Indonesia was in the financial year 2013-14 when total exports to Indonesia were worth $ 123 million only. Similarly, the highest figure of imports from Indonesia was $ 2069 million in fiscal year 2014-15. And the biggest trade deficit was in the same financial year and tune was $ 1926 million.
