Islamabad: Pakistan’s trade deficit ballooned by 32.8% year-on-year to $2.855 billion in November 2025, marking the second-highest monthly deficit in the last five months, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday.
The sharp widening came on the back of a 15.4% annual drop in exports to $2.398 billion from $2.833 billion in November 2024, while imports rose 5.4% to $5.253 billion from $4.983 billion a year earlier.
On a month-on-month basis, however, the trade gap narrowed 11.9% from $3.239 billion in October 2025, as both exports and imports declined sequentially.
For the first five months of FY2025-26 (July–November 2025), the cumulative trade deficit swelled 37.2% to $15.469 billion compared with $11.277 billion in the corresponding period last year. During this period:
Exports contracted 6.4% to $12.844 billion from $13.721 billion
Imports jumped 13.3% to $28.313 billion from $24.998 billion
The latest monthly figures place November 2025’s deficit just behind the $3.0 billion-plus gap seen earlier in the fiscal year, underscoring persistent pressure on the external account despite some monthly improvement.
Analysts attribute the export decline to weak global demand, energy shortages, and competitiveness challenges, while import growth continues to be driven by machinery, petroleum, and food items despite administrative curbs.
The deteriorating trade balance has also contributed to a sharp widening of the current account deficit, which surged 256% in the first four months of FY26.
The State Bank of Pakistan and the Ministry of Commerce are expected to face renewed calls for urgent export-boosting measures and import rationalization to arrest the rapid depletion of foreign exchange reserves.