The advisor to Prime Minister on commerce and investment on Wednesday revealed that Pakistan recorded exports of $2.8 billion in February 2022. The $2.8 billion exports account for a 36 percent increase in export compared to the corresponding month’s export last year, valued at only $2.0 billion.
Talking to twitter, the advisor on commerce said that “our export increased at the rate of USD 100 million/day which is the fastest for any month”. He further added that “for Jul-Feb 2022, our exports increased by 26% to USD 20.5 billion as compared to USD 16.324 billion during Jul-Feb 2021.”
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However it is important to note that the data revealed in a tweet by the advisor is provisional and it still has to be confirmed by Pakistan Board of Statistics. Pakistan exports in the current fiscal year have witnessed persistent growth. In the first five months of FY 2021-22, exports grew by 27 percent, hitting 12.365 billion in dollar value. In comparison, the first five months in 2020 could not even surpass $10 billion and were stuck at around $9.7 billion.
The country has incentivized the export of various products and, consequently, witnessed a persistent growth in the number of export commodities. Pakistan’s telecommunication sector, in a major development, is set to become a net exporter of mobile products in the coming months. In recent months the export of mobile products ramped up as a result of the “Make in Pakistan” policy introduced by the government.
Pakistan, which had been 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 of January to October 2021. Many international mobile brands, as a result, entered the Pakistani market, with the most recent being RealMe, which started producing mobiles locally at their unit in Lahore, Pakistan.
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Pakistan’s textile industry also reached new heights when it recorded export of Rs. 1.55 billion in the month of January 2022. Prime Minister Imran Khan, on the recommendation of the National E-Commerce Council, removed restrictions on foreign exchange and exempted IT companies and freelancers from paying capital gains tax. Following the exemption, Pakistan’s IT exports, which currently stand around a measly $2 billion per year, are also expected to soar.
Pakistan had relied exclusively on the tariffs collected from imported products – approximately 50 percent of the total tax revenue of the country was collected from taxes on imported products. But now, the government has started to move away from its import-biased economy to an export-oriented one. It is vital for the growth of all sectors that an export-oriented policy is placed, thereby enabling them to achieve their full potential.