ISLAMABAD The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said that for the third month in the current fiscal year, services exports fell short of expectations in January.
Services exports decreased 7.25 percent to $677.96 million in January of this year from $730.99 million in the same month the previous year.
On the other hand, after declining steadily throughout the current fiscal year, merchandise exports reversed course and rose in January and December.
In terms of rupees, service exports increased 17.96 percent in January to Rs190.04 billion, compared to Rs207.08 billion in the same month the previous year.
During the July-January fiscal year of FY24, services were exported for $4.44 billion, down 2.42 percent from $4.55 billion during the same time the previous year. They saw a significant increase in rupee terms of 24.23 percent, reaching Rs1.27 trillion, as opposed to Rs1.02 billion in 7MFY23.
Simultaneously, January’s import of services rose by 53.09 percent to $995.04 million from $649.96 million in the same month the previous year.
In the 7MFY24, services were imported for $6.16 billion, up from $4.79 billion during the same time the previous year, a 28.76 percent rise.
From July to January, the trade deficit in services increased by 641.56 percent to $1.72 billion, from $231.97 million in the same months the previous year.
Compared to the same month last year, when the trade imbalance in services was $38.14 million, it rose by 931 percent to $317.08 million in January.
