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Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit widened 15.3% year on year to $10.79 billion in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026–27 (July–September 2026), from $9.37 billion a year earlier. Imports grew faster than exports: imports were about $19.2 billion, up 13.2%, while exports reached $8.42 billion, up 10.8%.

Pakistan’s Q1FY27 trade deficit at a glance

Measure Q1FY27, July–September 2026 Year-on-year comparison
Merchandise trade deficit $10.79 billion Up 15.3% from $9.37 billion in Q1FY26
Exports $8.42 billion Up 10.8%
Imports About $19.2 billion Up 13.2%

These figures are attributed to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) in reporting by The News International and Business Recorder. The headline’s $10.8 billion and 15% are rounded forms of $10.79 billion and 15.3%.

Why did Pakistan’s trade deficit widen?

The import bill remained substantially larger than export receipts and increased at a faster rate. Imports rose 13.2% year on year to about $19.2 billion, compared with export growth of 10.8% to $8.42 billion. The difference between the two flows is the merchandise trade deficit.

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The reported totals show the direction and scale of the change, but do not identify which goods or trading partners caused it. They also do not, by themselves, establish effects on foreign-exchange reserves, the exchange rate, or Pakistan’s current account.

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What happened in September 2026?

September’s merchandise deficit was $3.56 billion, compared with $3.35 billion in September 2025 and $3.29 billion in August 2026. Exports in September rose 17.6% year on year to $2.94 billion; imports rose 11.1% to $6.49 billion. The month’s figures are attributed to PBS by The News International and corroborated by Business Recorder.

Is the trade deficit the same as the current-account deficit?

No. The figure here is the merchandise trade deficit: the difference between the value of goods exported and imported over the stated period. It is not the full balance of goods and services, and it is not the current-account balance. The latter covers a broader set of transactions, so this goods-trade figure alone cannot show whether the current account also widened or narrowed.

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How to interpret the figures

  • Period: Q1FY27 means July through September 2026, not a calendar-year quarter.
  • Scope: The reported $10.79 billion is a merchandise-trade measure, not a total external-balance figure.
  • Data status: The Q1 headline figures are reported as PBS data; The News describes them as preliminary. PBS’s August advance release labels its monthly figures provisional. The September values above are reported by news outlets attributing them to PBS; the underlying September release spreadsheet is not linked here, so they should not be described as independently recalculated or final.

PBS says it publishes trade statistics monthly, quarterly, and annually through its External Trade Statistics program. Its August 2026 advance release illustrates the provisional status of advance monthly data.

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