ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: There has been no increase in Pakistan’s exports for the last five years, the National Assembly has been informed.
In a written reply to a question by Nuzhat Pathan, the Minister for Commerce and Textile told that House that Pakistan’s exports remained US$ 25,110 million in 2013-14; US$ 23,667 million in 2014-2015; US$ 20,787 million in 2015-16; and US$ 20,422 million 2016-2017
However, export of Pakistan in 2017-18 rebounded to US$ 23.22 billion against US$ 20.244 billion during the same period last year reflecting an increase of 13.71%.
The minister also apprised the House that export of Pakistan did not increase mainly due to following reasons.
- Fall in international prices of commodities.
- Higher cost of utilities in Pakistan compared to regional countries.
- Fall in demand in the international markets.
- Unrealistic exchange rate of Pakistan also decreased competitiveness of exports.
- Energy Crisis.
The House was apprised that Pakistan’s exports, however, during last decade have increased from US$ 17.4 billion (2008-09) to US$ 23.2 billion (2017-18) with an average annual growth rate of almost 6%.
