ISLAMABAD, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's trade deficit shrank by 9.4 percent on a month-on-month basis in March 2026, as a notable decline in imports outpaced a slight dip in exports, official data showed.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the trade deficit stood at 2.73 billion U.S. dollars in March, down from 3.01 billion dollars recorded in February.
Imports fell by 5.6 percent to 4.99 billion dollars in March, compared with 5.29 billion dollars in the previous month.
Exports, meanwhile, edged down 0.6 percent to 2.26 billion dollars from 2.28 billion dollars in February, the data showed.
On a year-on-year basis, the trade deficit widened by 3.7 percent from 2.63 billion dollars in March 2025, as exports declined more sharply than imports.
Exports dropped 14.4 percent from 2.65 billion dollars in the same month last year, while imports decreased 5.4 percent from 5.28 billion dollars.
During the first nine months of the current fiscal year (from July 2025 to March 2026), the trade deficit increased to 27.81 billion dollars, marking a rise of 22.6 percent compared to 22.67 billion dollars in the corresponding period last year.
Exports during the period fell 8 percent to 22.73 billion dollars, while imports rose 6.6 percent to 50.54 billion dollars, reflecting continued pressure on the external account. ■