ISLAMABAD - The services’ trade deficit shrank by 87.68 percent during the fiscal year 2022-23 as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported. The services trade deficit was recorded at $719.45 million during July-June (2022-23) against the deficit of $5,840.11 million during July-June (2021-22). The exports of services during the period increased by 2.78 percent, going up from $7,102.35 million in 2021-22 to $7,300.13 million during fiscal year 2022-23, according to PBS data. On the other hand, the imports declined from $12,942.46 million to $8,019.58 million in FY2023, showing negative growth of 38.04 percent. Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the export of services decreased by 13.99 percent by declining from 664.02 million in June 2022 to $571.10 million in June 2023. The services imports also increased by 50.71 percent, from $1,328.89 million to $655.06 million. On a month-on-month basis, the export of services dipped by 5.91 percent in June 2023 when compared to the exports of 606.99 million in May 2023. The imports of services also went down by 27.47 percent in June 2023 compared to imports of $903.09 million in May 2023, PBS reported.

 It is pertinent to mention here that the merchandise trade deficit witnessed a decline of 41.16 percent during the first month of the current fiscal year (2023-24) as compared to the corresponding month of last year.

The trade deficit during the month under review was recorded at $1.607 billion against the deficit of $2.731 billion in July 2022, a decline of 41.16 percent.

The exports during the month were recorded at $2.057 billion against $2.250 billion last year, showing a decline of 8.57 percent.

On the other hand, the imports witnessed a sharp decline of 26.44 percent falling from $4.981 billion last year to $3.664 billion during July 2023.