{
  "id": 16694065,
  "title": "Pakistan's trade gap with regional countries widens 26.62pc in first quarter of FY27",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/27/pakistans-trade-gap-with-regional-countries-widens-26-62pc-in-first",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-27T02:37:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn Business",
    "slug": "dawn-business",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2040139/pakistans-trade-gap-with-regional-countries-widens-2662pc-in-first-quarter-of-fy27"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Pakistan's trade deficit with nine neighboring nations widened by 26.62 percent to $4.97 billion during the first quarter of 2026-27, as reported by the State Bank of Pakistan. This increase contrasts sharply with a deficit of $3.93 billion during the same period in the previous year. The broader trade gap is largely attributed to a decline in exports to regional markets, particularly to Afghanistan and Bangladesh, where exports have been suspended since October 10, 2025.\n\nThe trade deficit with China surged by $858.808 million, accounting for approximately 82.18 percent of the overall increase. This sharp rise in the bilateral deficit with China was primarily due to a 19.76 percent surge in imports from the country, which climbed to $5.82 billion in the July-September quarter of FY27 from $4.85 billion in the comparable period last year.\n\nExports to Afghanistan declined significantly by 88.34 percent, falling to $18.86 million in the first quarter of FY27, down from $161.76 million the previous year. Imports from Afghanistan, while minuscule, saw an even steeper decrease of 94.40 percent, standing at $0.25 million in the first quarter of FY27, compared to $4.52 million in FY26.\n\nExports to Bangladesh experienced a slight decline of 2.96 percent, falling to $174.77 million in the first quarter of FY27 from $180.12 million in the same period last year. Conversely, imports from Bangladesh decreased by a more pronounced 36.11 percent, narrowing to $13.88 million in the first quarter of FY27 from $21.73 million in the same period of the previous fiscal year.\n\nThe overall trade deficit with the nine neighboring countries contracted by 6.72 percent to $944.24 million in the July-September quarter of FY27, down from $1.01 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year. However, the rise in imports from China significantly offset this decline.",
  "summary": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2040061",
  "key_points": [
    "Decline in exports to Afghanistan and Bangladesh contributed to the widening trade gap.",
    "Trade deficit with China surged by $858.808 million, accounting for 82.18% of the overall increase."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The surge in imports from China and the suspension of exports to key markets like Afghanistan and Bangladesh signal a deepening imbalance in Pakistan's regional trade relationships.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}