KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has immediately stopped the collection of the Export Development Surcharge (EDS), providing relief to export industries, a circular said on Tuesday.
This decision follows the government’s exemption of all exported goods from the EDS, as mandated under subsection (1) of Section 11 of the Finance Act of 1991.Analysts have noted that the government has abolished the EDS, which was set at 0.25 per cent on goods exports. They consider this a small but positive step towards enhancing Pakistan’s exports.
According to data published by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country’s trade deficit for November increased by 33 per cent year-on-year (YoY), while it decreased by 12 per cent month-on-month (MoM) to $2.86 billion.
Exports fell to $2.39 billion in November, down 15 per cent from a year earlier and 16 per cent from the previous month. Monthly imports amounted to $5.25 billion, which is up 5.0 per cent YoY but down 14 percent MoM.
The trade gap widened 37 per cent to $15.5 billion in the five months of the current fiscal year. Exports fell 6.0 per cent to $12.84 billion during July-November FY26, mostly attributed to a reduction in food exports, particularly rice. Total imports rose 13 per cent to $28.31 billion in July-November FY25.
