ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s merchandise exports registered a modest recovery in January after five consecutive months of decline in the current fiscal year, offering some relief to exporters and raising cautious hopes of a turnaround in overseas shipments.
Export proceeds reached $3.061 billion in January, up 3.73 per cent from $2.951bn in the same month last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday. On a month-on-month basis, exports surged 34.96pc.
Exports have remained under pressure since August, with July being the lone exception when proceeds grew 16.43pc year-on-year. The downturn deepened in December, when export earnings fell 20.41pc, following declines of 14.54pc in November, 4.46pc in October, 3.88pc in September and 12.49pc in August.
Overall, export receipts during the first seven months of FY26 (July–January) declined 7.09pc to $18.195bn, compared with $19.583bn in the corresponding period last year.
Government relief measures
The recent uptick comes amid a series of government measures aimed at easing pressure on exporters. Last week, the prime minister announced a Rs4.4 per unit cut in electricity tariffs for the industrial sector to boost productivity and export competitiveness. He also said wheeling charges would be reduced to below Rs9 per unit, allowing industries to sell surplus power to neighbouring units.
In addition, the export refinance rate has been lowered from 7.5pc to 4.5pc, in coordination with commercial banks, to provide further financial relief to exporters.
Despite these steps, exporters continue to face weak global demand and high domestic production costs. Textile exporters, in particular, have reported output contractions linked to rising costs. In FY25, however, Pakistan’s export proceeds increased 4.67pc to $32.106bn, compared with $30.675bn a year earlier.
Trade deficit dynamics
PBS data showed imports edged down 1.4pc to $5.786bn in January from $5.904bn a year earlier. On a month-on-month basis, imports declined 4.85pc.
During the first seven months of FY26, the import bill rose 9.42pc to $40.233bn, up from $36.771bn in the same period last year.
As a result, the trade deficit narrowed 6.61pc to $2.725bn in January from $2.918bn in the corresponding month last year. However, the cumulative trade gap widened sharply by 28.22pc to $22.038bn during July–January FY26, compared with $17.188bn a year earlier.
For FY25, the trade deficit expanded 9pc to $26.27bn, up from $24.11bn in the preceding year.