By Moaaz Manzoor

Pakistan’s trade deficit widened sharply to $4.284 billion in April 2026 as imports surged, driven mainly by higher purchases of petroleum products, machinery and automobile-related goods, according to provisional data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The latest PBS figures showed imports increased to $6.763 billion during April 2026 from $5.103 billion in March 2026, reflecting growth of 32.53 percent month-on-month and 10.91 percent compared with April 2025.

In rupee terms, imports stood at Rs1.89 trillion during April compared with Rs1.43 trillion in March and Rs1.71 trillion in April last year.

Exports also recorded solid growth during the month, although the increase was not sufficient to offset the sharp rise in imports.

According to PBS data, exports totalled $2.479 billion during April 2026 compared with $2.264 billion in March, showing an increase of 9.5 percent month-on-month and 14.03 percent year-on-year.

In rupee terms, exports increased to Rs691.59 billion during April from Rs632.32 billion in March and Rs610.19 billion in April 2025.

As a result, the monthly trade deficit widened to Rs1.198 trillion in April, while the external trade gap in dollar terms reached $4.284 billion.

Cumulatively, Pakistan’s external trade performance remained under pressure during the first 10 months of FY2025-26.

Exports totalled $25.209 billion during July-April FY26 compared with $26.892 billion during the corresponding period last year, reflecting a decline of 6.26 percent.

Meanwhile, cumulative imports rose 7.33 percent to $57.408 billion during July-April FY26 from $53.486 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Consequently, the cumulative trade deficit during July-April FY26 widened to $32.199 billion, equivalent to around Rs9.06 trillion.

PBS data showed that value-added textile products continued dominating Pakistan’s export basket during April.

Knitwear remained the largest export category at Rs115.45 billion, followed by readymade garments at Rs97.85 billion and bedwear at Rs66.19 billion. Cotton cloth exports stood at Rs40.69 billion, while towels contributed Rs24.81 billion.

Among major export categories, basmati rice exports recorded a strong monthly increase of 49.02 percent, while cotton yarn exports rose 28.22 percent compared with March 2026. Petroleum product exports, excluding top naphtha, surged 263.8 percent month-on-month.

However, exports of non-basmati rice declined by 24.2 percent compared with March and 28.38 percent compared with April last year.

On the import side, petroleum-related products remained the largest contributors to the monthly increase.

Petroleum crude imports surged 83.29 percent compared with March and 119.05 percent over April last year, while imports of petroleum products jumped 135.01 percent month-on-month.

Imports of electrical machinery and apparatus increased by 51.36 percent during the month, while motor car imports in CKD/SKD form rose 29.67 percent. Mobile phone imports also recorded growth during the month.

According to PBS data, Pakistan imported petroleum crude worth Rs331.8 billion during April, while petroleum products accounted for Rs272.94 billion. Imports of electrical machinery stood at Rs100.24 billion, followed by palm oil at Rs81.18 billion and motor cars at Rs61.66 billion.

The latest figures suggest that despite stronger export performance in April, the rapid pace of import growth continued exerting pressure on Pakistan’s external trade balance.

Credit: INP-WealthPk