Pakistan’s exports to UK and US record high along with an impressive show in December
Pakistan’s exports to the United States rose to $425 million in December 2020, up from $334 million in the prior year month. This was a 27% year over year increase.
The exports to the U.S. between July and December also increased by 18.4%, increasing to $2.41 billion, up from $2.04 billion. These figures were announced by Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Razak Dawood.
This is the first time that Pakistan has crossed the $400 million monthly export mark for the U.S. “It is a great achievement by our exporters [and] I encourage them to strive to obtain a greater share of the market,” Dawood said.
Exports to UK also get a boost
Dawood also said that Pakistan’s half yearly exports to the United Kingdom touched the US$1 billion mark for the first time ever. The exports between July and December clocked at $1.03 billion, a significant increase from $852 million in the prior year quarter. The monthly exports also jumped with exports reaching $189 million from $129 million in 2019 December.
Huge opportunity for Made in Pakistan goods
Most countries have suffered losses in their exports due to the novel coronavirus. However, Pakistan has seen a considerable increase in exports due to a couple of factors. First and foremost, the industries weren’t completely shut down since the effects of the first wave of the coronavirus were not very severe.
Secondly, the drop in rupee prices has benefited the importers from overseas in terms of the low prices offered by Pakistani manufacturers. This is one of the reasons why the clothing industry in Faisalabad is running on its full capacity at the moment. Policies should be enacted to ensure that the temporary clients are incentivized enough to buy from Pakistan in the longer run.
This is an achievement indeed considering that India and Bangladesh have recorded negative growth of -9.07% and -0.80%, and Bangladesh saw its exports fall by 0.76% and -6.11% in November and December 2020, respectively.