ISLAMABAD  -  Pakistan’s exports had declined by 12.77 percent to $27.724 billion in FY2022-23 from $31.782 billion during the previous year, primarily due to sluggish global demand, lackluster performance of the domestic economy, curbing demand and the rising input costs.

The total imports for the cumulative period from July to June in FY2022-23 amounted to $55.198 billion, which were 31.1 percent lower than the previous fiscal, which can be attributed to a combination of policy adjustments and various administrative actions aimed at tightening regulations, said Annual Analytical Report on External Trade Statistics of Pakistan FY 2022-23 released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

The country exports reached at $27.724 billion in FY23, thus missing out target of $32.35 billion by $4.63 billion. This downturn can be primarily attributed to sluggish global demand and the lackluster performance of the domestic economy, which was further compounded by measures aimed at curbing demand and the rising input costs, said the report. Country’s terms of trade trend in all four quarters of FY23 is positive as the import price index is lower than the export price index except 1st quarter. The highest positive percentage change in term of trade over all is observed 46.39 percent in 4th quarter during FY23.

In FY23, exports reached a total of $27.724 billion, which was 12.77 percent less than the exports of $31.782 billion recorded in the previous fiscal. Analyzing the detailed data of FY23, it becomes evident that the decline in exports was the result of a combination of factors, encompassing both a reduction in export volumes and a decrease in unit values. More specifically, this decline in exports was notably driven by the high value-added (HVA) textiles and the food group, with a decrease of 13.0 percent. This downturn can be primarily attributed to sluggish global demand and the lackluster performance of the domestic economy, which was further compounded by measures aimed at curbing demand and the rising input costs. Furthermore, non-textile and non-food exports also experienced a decline of 12.0 percent during FY23, in contrast to the 12.4 percent growth observed in the previous year, highlighting a reduction in external demand. The month of August stood out in FY23 with the highest increase in export during FY23, which was amounting $2,483 million. Notably, Pakistan stands as the fifth largest global producer of cotton, presenting considerable prospects for enhancing its market share in the world export. In the timeframe of FY23, the exports within the textile category experienced a reduction of 14.6 percent to $16.502 billion in contrast to the $19.330 billion achieved during the corresponding period of previous year. Significant decrease is also observed in the growth of food group and other manufacturers group. In food commodities group, the export of rice saw a simultaneous decline in both volume and value, with decreases of 24.4 percent and 14.4 percent. Though share of petroleum group & coal is 0.8% but there is significant decrease in the growth of this exporting group (-33.94%) during FY23.

In the analysis of top ten commodities of exports during FY23, knitwear has the highest percentage share (16.00%) followed by readymade garments (12.60%) and bed wear (9.71%). Though the highest percentage decrease is observed in cotton yarn in top ten contributing commodities of exports but the share of this item is 3.05% during FY23. Among these few items cotton manufactures remained major contributor in total exports, followed by leather, rice and other items.

According the report, the total imports for the cumulative period from July to June in FY23 amounted to $55.198 billion. This figure starkly contrasts with the $80.137 billion recorded during the same period in the previous year, indicating a significant decline of 31.1 percent. This decline can be attributed to a combination of policy adjustments and various administrative actions aimed at tightening regulations. The increase in energy imports during the preceding FY22, primarily due to the rise in global crude oil prices and heightened energy demands, experienced a significant transformation. In FY23, these imports witnessed a remarkable decrease of 27.0 percent, reaching $17.015 billion, in contrast to the $23.319 billion reported in the previous year.

The analysis of top ten commodities of imports that contributed 54 percent in total imports during FY23 shows that the highest percentage share in total imports is observed in petroleum products (13.82%) followed by petroleum crude (8.96%) and natural gas, liquefied (LNG)(6.82).There is decreasing trend of all top ten imports commodities during FY23. Non-energy imports underwent a significant decrease of 32.8 percent, totalling $38.187 billion in FY23, in contrast to the $56.818 billion reported during the corresponding period of the previous year. Within this category, only food imports experienced a modest negative growth of 0.9 percent, while the remainder of non-energy imports exhibited a widespread decline throughout this timeframe. The combined efforts of the government and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in driving down imports, particularly those unrelated to energy, played a pivotal role, in tandem with the overarching economic deceleration.