Pakistan Quarterly Trade Bulletin : Volume 1 Issue 2

Abstract

At the time of furnishing this bulletin, Pakistan has seen a successful democratic transition with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf forming its government in the center. The manifesto of the incoming party stresses greatly on the importance of trade, particularly export competitiveness. The new Prime Minister during his initial interactions with the public also emphasized on the importance of peace and harmony in the region and that (regional) trade remains a low hanging fruit. The new government is also set to face challenges related to the management of macro economy. While some uptick in exports has been seen during the quarter under discussion, however import bill along with a ballooning fiscal deficit have resulted in growing financing needs, depleting foreign exchange reserves, and pressures on Pakistani Rupee.