Pakistan's trade deficit widens 16% to $14.63bn in July-October

Pakistan’s merchandise trade gap expanded nearly 16% to $14.63 billion in July-October of fiscal year 2026-27, Profit by Pakistan Today reported, citing Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. Imports rose more than 12% to $25.96 billion, while exports increased over 8% to $11.34 billion, leaving export growth short of the rise in import spending.

October’s deficit climbed nearly 20% year-on-year to $3.88 billion, with imports up nearly 12% to $6.81 billion and exports 2.8% higher at $2.93 billion. The report says petroleum products, machinery, chemicals and essential goods feature among imports, while textiles, rice and leather are key traditional exports; it also identifies energy costs, taxation, financing expenses and policy uncertainty as competitiveness challenges. A persistent gap between import and export growth could add pressure to current-account and foreign-exchange requirements.