Raza Khan

Pakistan’s trade deficit with China reduced by 56% to $824 million in November 2022 compared to $1.895 billion during the same month of last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and China also declined by 53% to $1.22 billion during the month under review from $2.6 billion during the same month of last year. Despite massive decline in bilateral trade during recent months, China remains Pakistan’s largest trade partner during each month of the current fiscal year.

Pakistan’s exports to China declined by 44% in November to $198 million against $353 million during the same period last year. Imports from China also dropped by 55% and reduced to $1.022 billion in November compared to $2.248 billion during the corresponding month of last year. Bilateral trade increased by 7.48% in November compared to the preceding month of October. The volume of bilateral trade was recorded at $1.135 billion in October.

Pakistan’s exports to China declined by 2.59% in November compared to the preceding month, when the export volume was recorded at $203.28 million. Imports from China posted a growth of 9.63% during the month under review against October. Import volume remained at $932.2 million in October. Despite the decline in bilateral trade, China remained Pakistan’s largest source of imports and second-largest export destination during the month under review, the Ministry of Commerce reported.

Earlier, a decline of 42% was recorded in bilateral trade in October. Trade between the two countries dropped to $1.135 billion in October 2022 from $1.952 billion during the corresponding month of last year. Pakistan recorded a $729 million deficit in bilateral trade with China in October 2022, compared to a deficit of $1.39 billion during the same month of 2021. A decline of 33.68% in bilateral trade was also observed during the first five months (July-November) of the fiscal year 2022-23.

The volume of bilateral trade dropped to $5.588 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal year from $8.42 billion during the same period of last fiscal year, data shows. With a bilateral trade volume of $19.457 billion, China remained Pakistan’s largest trade partner during the fiscal year 2021-22. Pakistan’s exports to China were recorded at $3.111 billion in 2021-22, while imports were at $16.346 billion.

Pakistan’s exported items to China included cotton, copper, cereals, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatics invertebrates, oil seed, oleagic fruits, grain, seed, beverages, spirits and vinegar, aluminum, apparel, salt, sulphur, leather and plastics. Pakistan’s imports from China include electrical, electronic equipment, machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers, pharmaceutical products, mineral fuels, oils, distillation products, organic chemicals, iron and steel, vehicles other than railway, tramway, plastics, fertilisers, manmade filaments, and rubbers.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk