Pakistan’s October trade gap hits $3.88 billion as imports outpace exports

Pakistan’s trade deficit widened to $3.88 billion in October 2026 as a rise in imports far outstripped an almost unchanged export performance. Provisional Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) figures reported on November 6, 2026, put the monthly increase in the gap at 10.30%, adding pressure on the country’s external account.

The deficit had stood at $3.52 billion in September 2026. It was also substantially higher than a year earlier: compared with the $3.24 billion gap recorded in October 2025, the latest monthly shortfall represented an increase of 19.70%.

Exports brought in $2.93 billion during October 2026, against $2.92 billion in September. That amounted to growth of just 0.21% over the month, leaving export earnings close to their previous level.

Imports, by contrast, reached $6.81 billion in October, rising 5.72% from September’s $6.44 billion. The much stronger increase in purchases from abroad, alongside the marginal improvement in exports, drove the widening monthly trade imbalance.

The year-on-year comparison followed the same pattern, with both imports and exports increasing but at markedly different rates. October’s export earnings were 2.84% above the $2.85 billion recorded in October 2025, while imports grew 11.81% from $6.09 billion in that month.

Across the first four months of fiscal year 2027, covering July–October 2026, Pakistan recorded total exports of $11.34 billion. This was an 8.52% improvement over the $10.45 billion earned in the corresponding four months of fiscal year 2026.

The cumulative import bill nevertheless grew faster, increasing 12.59% to $25.96 billion from $23.06 billion a year earlier. As a result, the July–October trade deficit reached $14.63 billion, up 15.97% from the $12.61 billion shortfall in the matching period of fiscal year 2026.

This publication reported on May 5, 2026, that April’s deficit had reached $4 billion, its highest monthly level in nearly four years. Citing PBS figures, that report put the increase at 4% year-on-year and 44% compared with the previous quarter. April exports had risen 14% from a year earlier to $2.48 billion, while imports increased 7.5% to $6.55 billion.

For July–April of fiscal year 2026, the same May 5 report recorded a trade gap of around $32 billion, an increase of 20%. Imports during that period had climbed nearly 7% to $57.2 billion, while exports fell more than 6% to $25.2 billion. The broader deficit therefore widened even though April itself recorded an improvement in export earnings.

In its December 4, 2024, report, this publication said exports over the first five months of fiscal year 2024–25 increased 12.57% to $13.691 billion from $12.162 billion. Imports rose 3.90% to $22.342 billion from $21.503 billion, but the trade deficit narrowed 7.39% to $8.651 billion from $9.341 billion. In November 2024, the gap fell 18.60% year-on-year to $1.589 billion as exports increased 8.98% and imports declined 2.92%; both also fell month-on-month.