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Aftab Maken
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s cumulative trade deficit for the first eleven months of fiscal year 2025-26 (July–May) stood at $34.76 billion, according to the latest merchandise trade statistics released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The data shows that the country’s import bill continued to outpace exports despite a marginal improvement in monthly trade figures during May 2026.
During the July–May 2025-26 period, Pakistan’s total exports amounted to Rs7.832 trillion ($27.90 billion), compared with Rs8.247 trillion ($29.56 billion) during the same period of the previous fiscal year, reflecting a decline of 5.03% in rupee terms and 5.61% in dollar terms.
Meanwhile, cumulative imports increased to Rs17.608 trillion ($62.66 billion) from Rs16.507 trillion ($59.15 billion) a year earlier, registering growth of 6.67% in rupee terms and 5.94% in dollar terms.
As a result, the overall trade deficit widened to Rs9.775 trillion ($34.76 billion) during July–May 2025-26, compared with Rs8.260 trillion ($29.59 billion) in the corresponding period of FY2024-25. This represents an increase of 18.34% in rupee terms and 17.48% in dollar terms.
On a monthly basis, however, the trade gap narrowed significantly in May 2026. Exports rose to $2.71 billion, up 9.59% from April 2026, while imports declined by 21.45% to **$5.29 billion. Consequently, the monthly trade deficit contracted by nearly 39.43% to $2.58 billion, compared with $4.26 billion in April.
Year-on-year, May 2026 exports posted a modest increase of 1.26%, while imports declined by 6.63%, helping reduce the monthly trade deficit by 13.68% compared with May 2025.
