Current account deficit narrows by $2 billion in February
Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Twitter on Saturday that efforts to contain the current account deficit have proven useful.
The prime minister added that the deficit narrowed to just $0.5 billion in February, a sharp drop from January, when the country recorded a current account deficit of $2.5 billion. , which is 12 times more than that of January 2021. The Prime Minister added that February 2022 recorded the “lowest monthly deficit so far in this financial year” and witnessed a decrease of “2 billion dollars ” of the current account deficit compared to January.
Timely actions to contain the current account deficit are bearing fruit. & strong growth in large-scale manufacturing.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) March 19, 2022
The current account deficit is the difference between a country’s spending and its income.
In his tweet, the prime minister further added that exports hit a record high while imports were “down 21% from their peak”. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the country’s exports in rupees have seen an increase of 32.77% in the first eight months of the current financial year compared to the corresponding period last year.
Find out more: Improving exports: the only economic solution?
According to provisional figures from PBS, exports in July-February (2021-22) were recorded at Rs 3,520,242 million against Rs 2,651,319 million in July-February 2020-21. February exports recorded an increase of 51.2%. In February 2021, the exports stood at Rs. 329,033 million, while in February 2022, the exports soared to Rs. 497,602.
Pakistan has taken several measures to encourage the export of various products and as a result has seen a persistent growth in the number of export products. Pakistan’s telecommunications sector is also expected to become a net exporter of mobile products in the coming months. In recent months, the export of mobile products has accelerated as a result of the government’s “Make in Pakistan” policy.
Pakistan, which was a net importer of mobile products, produced 18.87 million mobile units, including 7.93 million 4G mobile phones, compared to 9.45 million imported mobile phones during the period from January to October 2021. Many international mobile brands have thus entered the Pakistani market, the most recent being RealMe, which has started producing mobiles locally at its unit in Lahore, Pakistan.
Read more: The budget deficit reduced to Rs 587 billion?
Pakistan’s textile industry also reached new heights when it recorded exports of Rs. foreign exchange and exempted IT companies and the self-employed from paying capital gains tax. Following the development, Pakistan is now aiming for $50 billion in IT exports In the coming years.
