ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit ballooned by 25.17 percent in July 2026 over the same month a year ago, as imports jumped at over double the pace of exports, official data showed on Wednesday, highlighting renewed pressure on the country’s external balance at the start of the new fiscal year.
Exports climbed 9.54pc year-on-year to $2.94 billion in July, up 30.1pc from June 2026, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Imports, however, surged 18pc from a year earlier to $6.89 billion and the same number of imports were made in previous month (June). So, it swells the monthly trade gap in July 2026 to $3.95 billion from $3.154 billion a year earlier and $4.657 billion in June 2026.
Notably, for last fiscal year 2025-26, the overall trade deficit grew 21.57pc to $39.47 billion, as exports fell 5.97pc to $30.13 billion while imports climbed 7.9pc to $69.6 billion.
The PBS also reported the services trade performance data for July-June 2025-26.
According to the trade statistics for international services during this period, local companies imported more services than they exported. However, the trade deficit in services witnessed a decline of 33.38 percent, reaching $1.89 billion in FY26 compared to $2.84 billion in FY25.
In FY26, the economy hired the services of foreign companies for $11.93 billion and exported services abroad for $10.04 billion. Whereas, in FY25, the country’s services exports were recorded at $8.45 billion, and imports stood at $11.3 billion, representing an increase of 18.8 percent in services exports and a 5.67 percent increase in imports. In June 2026, services exports were valued at $956 million, while imports amounted to $932.8 million, resulting in a deficit of $23.1 million. In June 2025, exports were $696.7 million and imports at $901.4 million. Comparing June 2026’s services to the trade performance of the same month the previous year, exports were up by 37.2 percent, while imports up by 3.5 percent.
In May 2026, exports were recorded at $840.5 million, imports at $786.3 million, and the deficit at $54.2 million. During the month under review, services exports increased by 13.7 percent and imports up by 18.6 percent compared to the previous month.
