International statistics showed that the global trade growth in the first quarter of 2024 was primarily driven by increased exports from China (9%), India (7 percent) and the US (3 percent). Conversely, Europe’s exports showed no growth and Africa’s exports decreased by 5 percent. Trade in developing countries and South-South trade increased by about 2 percent in both imports and exports during the first quarter.
| Exports Of Pakistan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| S.No. | Commodities | %Change for value in million Rupees in September, 2024 over | |
| August, 2024 | September, 2023 | ||
| 1 | Knitwear | -3.25 | 21.08 |
| 2 | Readymade garments | -6.88 | 26.19 |
| 3 | Bed wear | -0.18 | 16.64 |
| 4 | Cotton cloth | 10.00 | 7.77 |
| 5 | Rice others | 17.38 | 61.13 |
| 6 | Towels | -10.15 | 0.32 |
| 7 | Oil seeds, Nuts & Kernals | 361.54 | -46.48 |
| 8 | Madeup Articles (Excl. Towels & Bedwears) | 0.38 | 17.84 |
| 9 | Basmati | -29.58 | 2.77 |
| 10 | Cotton yarn | -5.30 | -57.22 |
In comparison, developed countries saw flat imports and a modest 1 percent rise in exports. On an annual basis, however, South-South trade fell by 5 percent when comparing the first quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024. Trade growth varied significantly across sectors, with green energy and AI-related products experiencing stronger increases. The trade value of high-performance servers rose by 25 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023, while other computers and storage units saw an 8 percent increase. The trade value of electric vehicles also grew significantly, increasing by about 25 percent.
In the developing countries, Pakistan’s export of goods and services to the United States (US) as per the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), witnessed a rise of 6.18 percent during the first quarter of the current fiscal year (2024-25) as against to the exports of the same quarter of last year. The overall exports to the US were registered at $1.461 billion during July-September (2024-25) against exports of $1.376 billion during July-September (2023-24).
On a year-to-year basis, the exports to the US also surged to $511.525 million in September 2024 against the export of $441.569 million in September 2023. Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, the exports to the US witnessed a rise of 7.95 percent during September 2024 as against the exports of $473.838 million in August 2024.
According to the provisional figures compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, exports from Pakistan during September 2024 amounted to Rs.790,119 million (provisional) as against Rs. 769,399 million in August 2024 and Rs. 735,689 million during September 2023 explaining a rise of 2.69 percent over August 2024 and of 7.40 percent over September, 2023. In terms of US dollars, the exports in September 2024 totaled $ 2,840 million (provisional) as against $ 2,762 million in August 2024 explaining a rise of 2.82 percent over August 2024 and of 14.93 percent as against $ 2,471 million in September 2023.
Exports during July-September, 2024 (FY2024-25) totaled Rs. 2,201,790 million (provisional) as against Rs.2,010,946 million during the same period of last year explaining a rise of 9.49 percent. In terms of US dollars, the exports during July – September 2024 (FY2024-25) totaled $ 7,909 million (provisional) against $ 6,901 million during the same period of last year showing a rise of 14.61 percent. Main commodities of exports during September 2024 were Knitwear (Rs. 124,743 million), Readymade garments (Rs.94,151 million), Bed wear (Rs. 80,751 million), Cotton Cloth (Rs. 55,925 million), Rice others (Rs. 51,933 million), Towels (Rs.25,195 million), Oil seeds, Nuts & Kernals (Rs.24,923 million), Madeup articles (excl towels & bedwear) (Rs.19,942 million), Basmati rice (Rs.19,630 million) and Cotton yarn (Rs.14,466 million). Sources recorded that overall Pakistan’s exports to other countries witnessed an increase of 7.82 percent in the first three months, rising from $6.952 billion to $7.495 billion.
On the other hand, the imports from the US into the country during the months under review were registered at $558.562 million against $471.776 million last year, showing a rise of 18.39 percent in July-September (2024-25).
On a year-on-year basis, the imports for the US also grew to $187.700 million in September 2024, against the export of $120.799 million in September 2023. On a month-on-month basis, the imports from the US into the country witnessed a nominal decline of 1.12 percent during September 2024, as compared to the imports of US $185.606 million during August 2024. The overall imports into the country witnessed an increase of 15.71 percent, from $12.288 billion to US $14.219 billion.