Business | Economy
Pakistan's trade gap widens to $2.29b
Pakistan's trade deficit widened to $2.29 billion in April, compared with $1.1 billion in April last year, Statistic Bureau said on Saturday.
- Reuters
- Published: 23:37 May 10, 2008
Islamabad: Pakistan's trade deficit widened to $2.29 billion in April, compared with $1.1 billion in April last year, Statistic Bureau said on Saturday.
Exports stood at $1.8 billion in April this year, against $1.47 billion in the same period last year.
Imports were worth $4.1 billion compared with $2.57 billion last year.
"The increase in imports was mainly on account of higher oil prices and that of other commodities and there was a fairly decent growth in exports," said Asif Qureshi, head of research at Invisor Securities.
"Pakistan needs to find a solution to developing domestic energy sources," he added.
The deficit in April also widened 12.5 per cent from the $2.04 billion deficit posted in March.
The cumulative deficit for the 10 months July-April stood at $16.8 billion, widening nearly 51 per cent from the $11.14 billion posted in the same period a year ago.
Exports for the 10 months totalled $15.25 billion, compared with $13.85 billion in the year ago period.
Imports for the 10 months totalled $32.06 billion, up more than 28 per cent from the $24.99 billion deficit notched in the year ago period.
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