Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan hit $260.716 million

WEB DESK: Pakistan’s export of goods and services to Afghanistan has experienced a notable uptick, registering a growth of 3.63 per cent during the initial six months of the current fiscal year (2023–24).

This encouraging trend, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), demonstrates a robust performance in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year.

According to SBP data, the overall exports to Afghanistan reached US $260.716 million during July–December (2023–24), a significant increase from the US $251.580 million recorded during the same period in the previous fiscal year (2022–23).

However, on a year-to-year basis, exports to Afghanistan witnessed a decline of 26.83 per cent in December 2023, falling from $38.297 million in December 2022 to $28.019 million.

Additionally, on a month-on-month basis, December 2023 saw a notable decrease of 46.02 per cent in exports compared to November 2023, which stood at $51.911 million.

In contrast, Pakistan’s overall exports to other countries experienced a commendable surge of 4.99 per cent in the first half of the fiscal year, rising from US $14.222 billion to US $15.288 billion, as per SBP data.

Importantly, the imports from Afghanistan into Pakistan during the reviewed months exhibited a significant decline, reaching US $4.425 million compared to the US $13.253 million recorded in the same period last year.

This represents a substantial decrease of 66.61 per cent in July–December (2023–24).

On a year-on-year basis, imports from Afghanistan experienced a decline of 28.39 per cent in December 2023, decreasing from US $1.729 million in December 2022 to US $1.238 million in December 2023.

On a month-on-month basis, December 2023 imports also saw a nominal decrease of 3.95 per cent compared to November 2023, which recorded imports at US $1.289 million, according to the provided data.

Overall, the imports into Pakistan exhibited a downward trend, showing a decrease of 14.69 per cent from $29.588 billion to US $25.241 billion, indicating a broader economic shift during the first half of the fiscal year, as outlined by the SBP data.