Islamabad: Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit in May has ballooned by 134 per cent from the previous year due to lower export proceeds and higher than expected imports, according to data from the commerce ministry on Wednesday.
According to Dawn, the monthly deficit reached USD 3.432 billion in May 2021 from USD 1.467 billion in 2020, raising fears of creating a problem for the government in controlling external accounts. In rupee terms, the trade deficit was posted at 125.2 per cent on a year-on-year basis.
Since December 2020, the trade gap in Pakistan has been widening, mainly led by exponential growth in imports with comparative slow growth in export proceeds from the country.