Provisional figures showed exports declined 16.6 percent month-over-month in April to PKR 186.7 billion. Sales of all main commodities fell on the month: cotton cloth (-14.15 percent), knitwear (-7.90 percent), bedwear (-15.76 percent), readymade garments (-15.27 percent), cotton yarn (-28.67 percent), rice (-23.08 percent), rice basmati (-6.65 percent), towels (-20.42 percent), made-up articles (excl. towels, bedwear) (-22.90 percent) and leather tanned (-5.41 percent).
During April of 2014, imports increased by 9.2 percent from the previous month, to PKR 396.5 billion. Higher purchases were recorded for petroleum products (49.02 percent, mom), palm oil (13.06 percent), electrical machinery and apparatus (24.81 percent), medicinal products (49.92 percent), aircrafts, ships and boats (29.11 percent), iron and steel scrap (20.78 percent), and power generating machinery (3.58 percent).
Compared with the same month last year, the trade deficit increased 19.9 percent as exports dropped 10.7 percent while imports rose 3.2 percent.