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Trade barriers placed on foreign products are mistakenly considered a benefit by many politicians, when in fact they hurt their own citizens and economy and in turn make exports more difficult. Photo: file

ISLAMABAD:

The country’s merchandise exports reached $20.462 billion during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year (2025-26), the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Monday.

Exports showed a decline of 7.30% compared to $22.073 billion recorded during July-February of the last fiscal year (2024-25). On the other hand, imports increased by 8.06%, rising from $42.110 billion last year to $45.504 billion during July-February (2025-26). Based on these figures, the trade deficit during the first eight months was recorded at $25.042 billion against a deficit of $20.037 billion last year, reflecting an increase of 24.98%.