Exports in the country increased by 5.8 percent in July 2020-21 to $1,998 billion compared to $1,889 billion in the same month in 2019-20.
Export growth in July 2020, however, was much less than growth in July 2019 when exports rose from $1.63 billion in July 2018 to $1.90 billion from $1.63 billion in exports. This shows that exports in the first month of fiscal year 2020-21 are already in a negative trend compared to increases in July 2019 with respect to July 2018.
On the import side, a decline of 4.2 percent, in dollar value terms, was recorded in July 2020, as compared to July 2019. The imports stood at $ 3.540 billion in July 2020 as compared to $ 3.696 billion, showing a negative growth of $ 156 million. The trade deficit which was $ 1.808 billion in July 2019-20 has reduced to $ 1.542 billion in July 2020, showing a 14.7 percent improvement in trade balance. The Commerce Ministry has not yet submitted Strategic Trade Policy. Framework (STPF) 2020-25.
According to the Planning Commission, it would be a good signal for exporters to predict a rebound of global commodity demand in 2020 21 and a revival of economic activity after a deadly pandemic.
On Tuesday, Commerce and Investment Advisor to the Prime Minister, Abdul Razak Dawood, chaired an internal strategy meeting to review recent trade statistics and develop strategies to boost exports. The meeting discussed the new export and import figures, according to which exports reported a dollar- value increase of 5.8 per cent as opposed to July 2019.
Bilal Khan Pasha, attorney general in Istanbul, said Pakistan’s exports to Turkey stood at $26.4 million during July 2020. A significant rise of 5.83 per cent over the same time last year. Rice, ethyl alcohol, tents & tarpaulin, surgical instruments, and gray fabrics were main items.
Dawood argued that the Ministry of Commerce should review its regional diversification with a view to re-aligning the emphasis to new opportunities. He also instructed the officers of the Ministry to provide all kinds of required help to the exporters to achieve the goals, not only in terms of numbers, but also in terms of expected policy outcomes.
