Pakistan’s trade deficit up at $15.03 billion
The Gulf Today | December 15, 2017- The merchandise trade deficit in Pakistan swelled nearly 29 per cent to $15.03 billion in the first five months of this fiscal year, according to the latest official data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
It rose 19.5 per cent year-on-year in November to $2.92 billion.
The year 2016-17 saw the trade deficit rise to an all-time high of $32.58bn, representing year-on-year growth of 37 per cent. The country’s annual trade deficit was $20.44bn in 2013. It has been continuously on the rise since then. Analysts believe rising trade deficit is a serious challenge for the government. A commerce ministry official says the impact of government measures including increasing regulatory duties and introducing several non-tariff measures will apply to imports from December onwards. The imports recorded a growth of 21.12 per cent to $24.06 billion during the July-November period from $19.95 billion a year ago.
On a monthly basis, they grew 16.48 per cent year-on-year to $4.9 billion in November. It is claimed that the surge in import bill is driven by increase in imports of petroleum, food and capital products.
The imports of mobile phones and apparatuses also witnessed tremendous growth during the period under review. The import bill of LNG and other petroleum products will rise further following the depreciation of the rupee.
Export grew
The export proceeds grew 12.35 per cent in November reaching $1.97 billion from $1.75 billion last year. In the first five months of this fiscal year, the export proceeds recorded a growth of 10.49 per cent to $9.03 billion as against $8.17 billion in the corresponding period last year.
An official in the commerce ministry said that the impact of cash support under the prime minister package has revived exports. He said export proceeds entered double-digit growth owing to the cash support. Prime Minister Khaqan Abbasi has recently directed departments concerned to expedite process of clearing refund claims and jointly work to resolve all pending issues for facilitating exporters.
Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to carry on reforms within the tax administration to create more avenues for revenue collection.
A delegation of the post-programme monitoring mission led by IMF’s Harold Finger met Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar Khan, sources said here Tuesday.
The delegation held discussions with FBR officials on different aspects of the economy, its growth and the revenue collection body’s contribution towards it. An official statement issued after the meeting said that Finger appreciated the increase in the number of tax filers. However, he stressed the need for optimally utilising available third-party data for bringing more people into the tax net.
At the same time, Finger stressed the need for making concerted efforts to plug leakages and create more avenues for revenue collection. The IMF delegation head also highlighted the need for taxpayer facilitation, building trust and creation of tax culture along with revenue-generating measures. He also pointed out the need for enhanced oordination of federal and provincial revenue authorities.