Pakistan’s total imports decreased by $1 billion from $7.9 billion to $6.9 billion in December 2021 as compared to November 2021. The import projection for the month was $6.2 billion. 

The data was shared by the Advisor to Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood in a tweet. 

Early indications are that the growth in imports has started to decrease. imports during Dec 2021 decreased to USD 6.9 billion as compared to USD 7.9 billion in Nov 2021. This is a decrease of USD 1 billion. The import projection for Dec 2021 was USD 6.2 billion. 1/4

— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) January 2, 2022

He added that in the same period, exports increased by 16.7% from Rs2.36b to $2.76b. However, they were still lower than the monthly target of $2.8b. 

In the first half of the fiscal year 2021-22 (July-December), the total magnitude of exports stood at $15.12b as compared to $12.11b in the corresponding period last year. 

Pakistan’s current account deficit, the difference between exports and imports, has been increasing over the past few months.

In November, the deficit stood at $5.10b, the highest trade deficit recorded in a single month. The $4.14 billion deficit in December is significantly lower than the previous month.

During the first five months of current fiscal year, Pakistan exported goods $12.36b worth, while imported items $33.11b worth. The trade deficit stood at $20.74b.