Trade gap hits $2.3b as imports stay high

Pakistan's trade deficit remained high at $2.3 billion in January 2025 after imports stayed above $5.2 billion for the second consecutive month, the national data collecting agency reported on Monday. Exports too exhibited a healthy growth momentum and stood close to $3 billion. But these are still not enough to plug the gap despite having restricted imports. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported that the trade deficit – the gap between imports and exports – widened nearly 18% in January compared to the same month of last year. The key reason behind the jump in deficit was $5.24 billion worth of imports. It was the second consecutive month in recent times when imports crossed $5 billion. There was a $477 million, or 10%, increase in imports last month.