Pakistan Posts 46-Month High Trade Deficit as Imports Outpace Exports

Pakistan posted a 46-month high monthly trade deficit of $4 billion in April 2026, as higher imports continued to outpace export growth and added to pressure on the country’s fragile external position.

The trade gap widened 4% from a year earlier and 44% from the previous quarter, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

For the first 10 months of FY26, the trade deficit rose 20% to $32 billion. Imports during July-April increased nearly 7% to $57.2 billion, while exports fell more than 6% to $25.2 billion, underscoring the strain on Pakistan’s balance of payments as it continues to rely on external financing to support foreign exchange reserves.

In April alone, exports rose 14% from a year earlier to $2.48 billion, but that increase was overshadowed by imports, which climbed 7.5% to $6.55 billion.

Services trade provided only limited support. The services trade deficit narrowed 6.7% to $2.15 billion in July-March FY26, as services exports rose 17% to $7.35 billion. That improvement was partly offset by an almost 11% increase in services imports to $9.5 billion.

There was a sharper improvement in March, when the monthly services trade deficit narrowed 81% from a year earlier to $22.9 million, down from $120 million. Services exports for the month increased 16% to $903 million, while imports edged up 3% to $925 million.

Even so, the trade picture remains challenging, with import demand staying firm while export growth remains weak. The widening gap is likely to keep pressure on the rupee and complicate efforts to stabilize Pakistan’s external accounts.

Oh no. Didn’t you already write article on this before. This breeds inflation