Raza Khan

Pakistan’s trade deficit with Australia declined by 39.70% to $52.73 million during the first four months (July-October) of the current fiscal year from $87.45 million during the same period of last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Australia was recorded at $255 million during the first four months of 2022-23 against $269 million during the corresponding period of 2020-21, with a decline of 5.13%.

Pakistan’s exports to Australia rose to $101.22 million during the period under review from $90.82 million during the same period of the preceding year, registering an increase of 11.45%. Pakistan’s imports from Australia declined by 13.63% and dropped to $153.96 million during the first four months of FY23 from $178.27 million during the corresponding period of FY22, data shows. Pakistan’s exports to Australia also posted a growth of 25.88% during October and rose to $24.85 million from $19.74 million during the same month of 2021.

Imports from Australia dropped by 11.85% during October to $29.6 million from $33.58 million during the corresponding month of last year. According to an estimate of the Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan has the potential to enhance its exports to Australia up to $500 million within three to five years. Exports of textiles, food items, especially rice and leather goods, can be enhanced within the minimum time as these commodities are in high demand in Australia.

Total volume of Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Australia during 2021-22 was recorded at $658 million against $635 million during the preceding year (2020-21). According to Consulate General and Trade Commission of Pakistan in Sydney, Pakistan’s top-10 export products to Australia include textile made-ups, garments, iron and steel (mainly pipes), cereals (mainly basmati rice), leather goods (mainly gloves), processed food (mainly spices), textile fabrics, surgical instruments, sports goods and miscellaneous agro food items. The top-10 products constitute 95% of Pakistan’s exports to Australia.

At the product group level, textile group constitutes 69% of exports, agro-food group 12.6%, metals group 7.2%, leather group 6.1%, and surgical instruments 3.3%. The Ministry of Commerce has established a bilateral Joint Trade Committee (JTC) in collaboration with relevant Australian authorities to promote exports to Australia. A social media platform on Facebook and Twitter, named “Made in Pakistan for Australia” was launched to run different promotional campaigns about Pakistani quality products such as home textiles, spices, sports goods, and mango being sold in Australia.

The Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan’s Consulate General in Sydney and Pakistan Software Export Board have launched a joint program to promote IT services in Australia. Pakistan’s imports from Australia include pulses, LNG and coal, iron and steel (scrap and flat-rolled), unwrought zinc, wood products (mainly paper, paperboard), fertilisers (DAP), metals, office machinery, dyes and pigments, chocolates. The major product categories of imports include food items (42%), petroleum products (24%), metals (19%), agricultural and other chemicals (8%), and machinery (3%).

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk