Exports show signs of revival as pace of decline slows in June.

Byline: Mubarak Zeb Khan

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's expoArts fell for the fourth consecutive month in June to $1.609 billion, down 6.3 per cent year-on-year from $1.717bn in the corresponding month last year, data released by the Ministry of Commerce showed on Thursday.

The exports in June fell at a much slower pace compared to a month-on-month drop of 33.6pc in May and 54pc in June, due to a recovery in export orders from international buyers mainly in the textile and clothing sectors.

Between July to June, exports fell by 6.83pc or $1.57bn to $21.4bn compared to $22.97bn of last year.

However, continuous fall in imports is providing some breathing space for the government to manage external account despite negative growth in exports from the country. In June, the import bill also posted a negative growth of 16.5pc to $3.643bn against $4.364bn over the last year.

In the outgoing fiscal year (2019-20), the import bill witnessed a steep decline of $10.29bn or 18.78pc to $44.509bn compared to $54.799bn last year. However, during the same period, exports declined by $1.57bn, while the import bill was lower by $10.29bn, narrowing the current account deficit.

According to the commerce ministry data, the current account deficit shrank by $8.7bn or 27.4pc in the financial year 2019-20 due to a substantial decline in imports compared to moderate fall in export proceeds from the country.

The country's trade deficit also came down by 27.41pc in the FY20 from a year ago. The decline is mainly due to a double-digit fall in imports. Meanwhile, government's corrective measures also helped slow down imports to reduce pressures on foreign exchange reserves.

In absolute terms, the trade gap narrowed to $23.099bn in July-June from $31.820bn over the corresponding months last year. On a monthly basis, the deficit fell by 23.2pc to $2.034bn in June from $2.647bn during the same month last year.

At the height of lockdown, Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood in a statement said that he was expecting much worse export results, but Pakistan has successfully bounced back. 'I would like to congratulate all our respected exporters for their efforts', he said, adding the 'overall declining trend in exports, due to Covid-19, has...