ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The National Assembly was told on Friday that Bangladesh is one of the top destinations for exports of Pakistan, and the bilateral trade between them has always been in favour of Pakistan.
In a written reply to a question by the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Pakistan’s (MMAP) lawmaker James Iqbal, the Minister for Commerce told the House that Bangladesh is the second top export destination of Pakistan in Asia after China and Afghanistan.
The House was told that Pakistan’s major exports to Bangladesh include woven cotton fabrics, cotton yarn, raw sugar, raw cotton, tanned leather, machinery, and its parts and synthetic fabrics including silk and woollen.
Whereas Pakistan’s main items of imports from Bangladesh are raw jute, tea, and mate, yarn & thread of synthetic fibers and tobacco.
The Minister for Commerce apprised that Pakistan exports to Bangladesh increased from US$ 618 million in 2017 to the level of US$ 752.67 million in 2018-19.
The minister told that even though the Pakistan-Bangladesh bilateral trade remained in surplus in 2020 too, the overall trade including both exports and imports decreased in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic fallouts of which remained palpable throughout the World since February 2020.
The following table shows Pakistan-Bangladesh bilateral trade figures for the last six years:
