By Moaaz Manzoor

Despite an increase in exports, Pakistan’s trade deficit widened to $4.074 billion in April 2026, as imports rose sharply on both a monthly and an annual basis, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

According to the PBS data, exports during April 2026 amounted to $2.479 billion, up from $2.264 billion in March 2026, showing an increase of 9.50% month-on-month.

Yearly, exports also increased by 14.03% to $2.479 billion in April 2026, up from $2.174 billion in April 2025.

In rupee terms, exports stood at Rs691.639 billion in April 2026 compared to Rs632.318 billion in March 2026 and Rs610.190 billion in April last year. This reflected an increase of 9.38% over the previous month and 13.35% year-on-year.

Cumulatively, exports during July-April FY26 totalled $25.210 billion, down from $26.892 billion in the corresponding period of last year, registering a decline of 6.25%. In rupee terms, exports fell by 5.51% to Rs7,081 billion during the period under review from Rs7,494 billion last year.

On the import side, Pakistan’s import bill during April 2026 stood at $6.553 billion, up from $5.103 billion in March 2026, reflecting a sharp month-on-month increase of 28.41%. Imports also rose by 7.46% year-on-year to $6.553 billion from $6.098 billion in April 2025.

In rupee terms, imports increased to Rs1,830 billion in April 2026 from Rs1,427 billion in March 2026 and Rs1,711 billion in April last year. This showed an increase of 28.26% month-on-month and 6.96% year-on-year.

For the cumulative period, imports during July-April FY26 rose to $57.198 billion from $53.486 billion during the same period last year, registering an increase of 6.94%. In rupee terms, imports grew by 7.85% to Rs16,082 billion from Rs14,912 billion in July-April FY25.

As a result, the trade deficit for April 2026 stood at $4.074 billion, up from $2.839 billion in March 2026, representing a month-on-month increase of 43.50%. In rupee terms, the deficit widened to Rs1,139 billion from Rs795 billion in March, reflecting an increase of 43.27%.

Yearly, the trade deficit increased by 3.82% from $3.924 billion in April 2025. In rupee terms, the deficit rose by 3.43% from Rs1,101 billion in April last year.

Cumulatively, the trade gap during July-April FY26 widened to $31.988 billion from $26.594 billion in the corresponding period of last year, showing an increase of 20.28%.

In rupee terms, the cumulative deficit expanded by 21.35% to Rs9,001 billion from Rs7,417 billion in July-April 2024-25.

The latest data indicate that although exports improved in April on both a monthly and yearly basis, the sharp rise in imports significantly widened the monthly trade deficit. The continued decline in cumulative exports, combined with higher imports, remains a major challenge for narrowing the country’s external trade gap.

Credit: INP-WealthPk