ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit has sharply widened by 34.33 percent to $20.2 billion during first eight months of current fiscal year 2016/2017 as compared with $15.04 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, according to data issued by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday.
The rising trade gap mainly attributed to significant increase in imports, which increased by 16 percent to $33.5 billion during the period under review when compared with $28.89 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
On the other hand, the exports fell by 4 percent to $13.32 billion during July – February 2016/2017 as against $13.85 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal year.
Experts said that large size imports for projects under China – Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) were major reasons for increase in imports. The experts urged the government to take measures to improve exports in order to prevent further widening in trade gap.
