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Pakistan exports are strongly associated with textiles and apparel, while its imports include energy products, machinery, palm oil and industrial inputs. In Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) customs figures for fiscal year 2023–24, exports were US$30.675 billion and imports were US$54.779 billion, leaving a goods-trade deficit of US$23.994 billion. To interpret those numbers correctly, distinguish merchandise trade from the State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) balance-of-payments series, which uses a different basis and coverage.
What does Pakistan import and export?
PBS’s External Trade FAQ, updated March 8, 2024, lists product categories that give a broad picture of Pakistan’s merchandise trade. It is useful as structural orientation, not as a current ranking: for a particular year’s leading products or shares, consult that year’s commodity tables.
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Commonly listed exports
- Knitwear, readymade garments and bedwear
- Cotton cloth, towels and cotton yarn
- Vegetables and petroleum products
Commonly listed imports
- Natural gas, petroleum products and crude oil
- Electric machinery and mobile phones
- Palm oil, plastics, manufactured fertilizer, and iron and steel
These categories describe what appears in PBS’s major-category list; they do not, by themselves, explain why a product’s trade value rose or fell in a given year. The FAQ is available from Pakistan Bureau of Statistics: External Trade Statistics.
Why does Pakistan have a goods-trade deficit?
The trade balance is exports minus imports. When imports are worth more than exports, the result is a deficit. PBS states the same calculation in its External Trade FAQ.
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In FY2023–24, Pakistan’s recorded goods imports exceeded goods exports by US$23.994 billion. The comparable PBS figures for FY2022–23 were US$27.724 billion in exports and US$55.198 billion in imports. Both years’ figures are reproduced in the SBP’s 2023–24 Annual Report Statistical Supplement. These are fiscal-year merchandise figures, not a complete account of services trade or the balance of payments.
| Fiscal year | Exports | Imports | Goods trade balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2022–23 | US$27.724 billion | US$55.198 billion | US$27.474 billion deficit, calculated as exports minus imports |
| FY2023–24 | US$30.675 billion | US$54.779 billion | US$23.994 billion deficit |
The figures show the size and direction of the gap; they do not identify its causes. For a later comparison, the SBP’s Annual Report 2024–25 says goods exports grew 4.5% in FY2025, compared with 10.7% in FY2024. That growth-rate comparison alone does not establish which products drove the change.
How to read Pakistan’s official trade statistics
1. Start with the measure and period
Use PBS for customs-based merchandise trade. Before comparing figures, identify whether they describe exports, imports or the balance; which fiscal year or matching months they cover; whether they are in dollars or rupees; and whether the measure is value or quantity. PBS’s trade portal provides monthly, quarterly and annual statistics, historical series, commodity and country breakdowns, and trade indices: PBS External Trade Statistics.
2. Account for the valuation basis
PBS reports exports on an FOB basis and imports on a CIF basis. CIF includes cost, insurance and freight, so the import and export values are not on identical valuation terms. Keep that distinction in mind when interpreting the difference between them or comparing PBS with another series.
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3. Do not mix customs data with balance-of-payments data
PBS customs statistics are based on goods physically crossing customs boundaries. SBP’s balance-of-payments trade series is based on receipts and payments through the banking channel, supplemented with relevant non-bank information, and includes adjustments. Differences in coverage, timing and valuation mean the two series can differ; the SBP statistical supplement includes reconciliation tables. Use one source and basis consistently for a time comparison rather than treating the totals as interchangeable. See the SBP 2023–24 Annual Report Statistical Supplement.
4. Check whether a release is advance or revised
PBS publishes advance releases as well as revised summaries. Its portal links a report on revisions to monthly import trade statistics for FY2020–21 through FY2024–25. When citing a figure, note its release status and use the latest applicable version available from the PBS trade statistics portal.
5. Match the table to the question
- To find what Pakistan traded, use commodity tables.
- To find trading partners, use country tables.
- To distinguish a price-related change from a change in physical volume, examine unit-value and quantum indices alongside trade values.
PBS lists these measures, including terms of trade, through its trade statistics portal.
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What these figures include—and what they do not
The PBS figures discussed here cover merchandise trade, not services exports and imports. PBS lists services statistics separately. The figures are also not a substitute for a balance-of-payments measure, whose coverage and accounting basis differ from customs trade. For a current monthly value, consult the latest PBS advance or revised release and check its period and revision status; the annual figures above do not establish a 2026 monthly total.
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