According to local media, under the incumbent government’s rule, exports have witnessed consistent growth, exceeding most of the monthly and half-yearly targets set forth by the government. In contrast, Pakistan’s exports under the rule of PML-N remained invariable.
In 2013 when PML-N took over, the exports were valued at around $25 billion per year, and by the end of their term in 2018, the exports had shrunk down by $2 billion and valued at around $23 billion.
Under the current government’s rule in October 2021, Pakistan’s exports posted a growth of 17.5 percent, rising to $2.4 billion, compared to the corresponding period of the previous year in which the exports valued at around $2.1 billion. In November of the current fiscal year, Pakistan recorded a 33 percent increase in the value of its exports compared to the same period last year.
In February 2022, exports reached a value of $100 million per day, and the government plans to increase exports to around $40 billion, almost twice the size at which the exports were valued when the PTI government came into power.
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In the last fiscal year, Pakistan exported approximately $25 billion worth of goods and around $6 billion worth of services taking the total export value at around $31 billion.
However, the trade deficit remained significantly high at approximately $32 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year. According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the trade deficit in July-February 2021-22 was valued at around $14.4 billion, 82%, more than the corresponding period of the previous year.
The government set a deficit target of $28.4 billion, but due to the import-export disparity, it was already breached in the seventh month of this fiscal year. Due to the widening trade deficit, the central bank’s foreign currency reserves also dipped further to $16.8 billion.
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Pakistan also witnessed a current account deficit of approximately $2.5 percent in January but immediately recovered in February, bringing it down to just $545 million, a measly figure compared to the trade deficit during the time of the preceding government.
Imports in the PML-N government were valued at around $43 billion in 2013, and by the time the PTI government came into power, the imports had soared to $60 billion, a whopping 37 percent increase in just a span of 5 years.
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On the contrary, under the incumbent government’s rule, imports have soared 11 percent, and exports have recorded a 26 percent increase in four years. The ruling party had also undertaken several initiatives which support the export economy.
Pakistan’s telecom sector also experienced a tectonic shift due to the “Make in Pakistan Policy” introduced by the government. According to a report by PTA, Pakistan imported 28.0 million mobiles in 2019 alone.
Now, the country produces around 25 million phones, significantly bringing down the imports, which only peaked at 9.74 million units from January 2021 till October. This is due to the growing local assembly facilities and plants introduced as a direct result of the mobile phone policy.
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In his interview with the Global Village Space, the advisor to the prime minister also mentioned that the Pakistan export industry was looking to incentivize the export of non-traditional products such as mobiles and electronics. As a result of these policies, the export of traditional products in non-traditional markets grew by 7 percent, and the export of traditional products in non-traditional markets grew by a whopping 60 percent.