Pakistan’s trade deficit widened by 18% year-on-year to $7.1 billion during the first two months of FY27, despite a sharp monthly decline in imports, as export growth remained relatively weak.

According to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports totaled $5.5 billion in 2MFY27, recording a 7% increase from the same period last year. Imports, however, climbed 13% YoY to $12.6 billion.

The faster increase in imports pushed the cumulative trade gap to $7.1 billion, compared with around $6 billion during the corresponding period last year.

In August 2026, exports stood at $2.5 billion, up 3.8% compared with August 2025 but down 15% from July.

Imports also declined sharply on a monthly basis, falling 17.6% to $5.7 billion. However, they remained 7.4% higher than a year earlier.

The monthly figures resulted in an August trade deficit of $3.2 billion, which was 10% higher than the deficit recorded in August 2025 but 20% lower than the previous month.

The data shows that while the monthly trade gap narrowed from July, the overall deficit for the first two months of FY27 has continued to expand due to imports growing faster than exports.