Cutlery exports witnessed an increase of 7.39 percent in 6 months

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: The cutlery exports from the country witnessed an increase of 7.39 percent during the first six months of current financial year (2019-20) as against the exports of corresponding period of last year (2018-19).

Pakistan exported cutlery worth $47.415 million during July-December (2019-20) against the exports of $44.154 million during July-December (2018-19), showing growth of 7.39 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

On year-on-year basis, the cutlery exports from the country during December 2019 dipped by 6.81 percent when compared to the same month of the last year.

The cutlery exports during December 2019 were recorded at $7.404 million against the export of $7.945 million in December 2018.

Meanwhile, on month-on-month basis, the cutlery export in December 2019, also decreased by 12.52 percent when compared to the export of $8.464 million in November 2019.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandise trade deficit plunged by 33.67 percent during the first six months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same month of last year.

The trade deficit during July-December (2019-20) was recorded at $ 11.628 billion against the deficit of $16.771 billion during July-December (2018-19), the data revealed.

The exports during the period increased from $ 11.181 billion during last year to $11.535 billion during the current fiscal year, showing growth of 3.17 percent.

On the other hand, the imports into the country witnessed decline of 17.13 percent by falling from $ 27.952 billion last year to $23.163 billion during the current fiscal year, the data revealed.