ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s trade deficit stands at $ 13.93 billion in the period from July 2013 to March 2014, figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.
During the first nine months of the current fiscal year the trade deficit was $ 809 million, which is 5.5 per cent, less than the deficit recorded in the corresponding period of previous fiscal year.
During the aforementioned period, import payments amounted to $ 33.1 billion, which were $ 282 million or 0.86% higher than the same period of previous year, according to the PBS.
Exports in the nine-month period stood at $ 19.1 billion compared to $18.1 billion in the previous fiscal year, recording a growth of 6.1 per cent or $ 1 billion.
This year, the government is striving to step up exports to $ 26.6 billion and keep imports at $ 43.3 billion, a trade deficit of $ 16.7 billion.
In the month of March 2014, imports stood at $ 3.6 billion while the exports grew to $ 2.26 billion.