ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports in the month of January 2023 registered a decline for the fifth month in a row, raising fears about the closure of industrial units especially textile and clothing across the country.
According to data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the other day, country’s exports were down by 15.42 per cent year-on-year to $2.21 billion in January, and export proceeds decreased by 4.41pc in January on a month-on-month basis.
The PBS data shows that the exports started posting negative growth in the first month of the current fiscal year — July — barring August when a slight increase was recorded because of the backlog of the preceding month. Export contraction is a worrisome factor, which will create problems in balancing the country’s external account.
In the first seven months (July to January) of 2022-23, exports were down 7.16pc at $16.46bn compared to $17.74bn in the corresponding period last year. The drop shows the government would find it difficult to achieve the export target this fiscal year.
