ISLAMABAD, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's trade deficit widened by 25 percent year on year to 25.04 billion U.S. dollars in the first eight months of the current fiscal year 2025-26, official data showed on Tuesday.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country had recorded a trade deficit of 20.04 billion dollars during the same period of the previous fiscal year.
The increase in the deficit during July-February was driven by higher imports and a decline in exports.
Exports during the first eight months of FY26 stood at 20.46 billion dollars, down 7.3 percent from 22.07 billion dollars in the corresponding period of FY25, the PBS said.
Imports rose 8.1 percent to 45.50 billion dollars, compared with 42.11 billion dollars a year earlier.
In February 2026, exports fell 8.8 percent year on year to 2.27 billion dollars from 2.49 billion dollars in February 2025, while imports declined 1.6 percent to 5.25 billion dollars from 5.34 billion dollars in the same month last year.
As a result, the trade deficit in February stood at 2.98 billion dollars, up 4.6 percent from 2.85 billion dollars a year earlier.
On a month-on-month basis, the deficit increased 8.4 percent from 2.75 billion dollars recorded in January 2026, the data showed. ■