Pakistan’s trade deficit with the Middle East narrowed by 24.43% to $11.81 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, down from $15.63 billion in the same period last year. This reduction is mainly attributed to decreased imports of petroleum products from the region.
The trade imbalance with the Middle East has been diminishing since the beginning of FY24, driven by lower consumption of petroleum products amidst rising prices during the review months.
Pakistan’s exports to the Middle East saw a significant increase of 45.87% to $2.881 billion between July and May 2023-24, compared to $1.975 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Simultaneously, imports dropped by 16.54% to $14.691 billion in 11MFY24 from $17.604 billion in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan.
Pakistan recently signed a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to mitigate its trade deficit with the region. Increased demand for Pakistani products was observed from countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
Exports to Saudi Arabia increased by 44.52% to $661.27 million in 11MFY24 from $457.55 million in 11MFY23, while imports from Saudi Arabia decreased by 2.22% to $4.096 billion in 11MFY24 from $4.189 billion in the same period last year.
Exports to the UAE surged by 40.19% to $1.880 billion in 11MFY24 from $1.341 billion in 11MFY23, primarily driven by higher exports to Dubai, which amounted to $1.546 billion this year compared to $1.209 billion last year, marking a 27.87% increase.
Exports to Kuwait rose by 4.12% to $122.15 million in 11MFY24 from $117.31 million in the corresponding period last year, while imports from Kuwait declined by 33.65% to $1.656 billion from $2.496 billion over the same period.
Exports to Qatar showed minimal growth of 0.01% to $152.99 million in FY24 from $152.97 million in FY23, whereas imports from Qatar decreased by 15.51% to $3.044 billion this year from $3.603 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Exports to Bahrain increased by 9.07% to $64.64 million in 11MFY24 from $59.26 million in the corresponding period last year, while imports from Bahrain declined by 41.84% to $209.83 million in 11MFY24 from $360.80 million over the same period last year.
