Page 33 - CMA Journal (Mar-Apr 2026)

Pakistan's economic history shows a deep-rooted connection Pakistan in Regional
with shocks coming from beyond its borders. From
constantly developing reactive policies to struggling to Perspective
effectively implement and sustain them, Pakistan's economic
Compared to other
infrastructure has become one of crisis management. A major
countries in the region,
challenge Pakistan has historically faced is that of long-term
P a k i s t a n ' s e x p o r t
sustainable reforms.
performance is still
It does not take a deep dive into Pakistan's trade and export
relatively weak, both in
structure to understand that its exports are highly
concentrated within a few goods and services. Another s i z e a n d i n h o w
challenge of Pakistan's exports is the very limited buyer pool diversi ed it is.
for its exports.
n Bangladesh is also Urooj Fatima, ACMA
Export and Trade Environment heavily dependent on Accounts Officer–Agri Services
Nestle Pakistan
The share of exports in total GDP has been hovering between tex tiles, but it has
10 to 11% for many years, showing a lack of development. managed to perform
Even though the ratio of total trade to GDP is higher at much better in that same sector. Its exports contribute a
around 28%, Pakistan still relies heavily on limited export larger share to GDP. Its ready-made garment sector accounts
products and services. Imports consistently exceed exports, for upwards of 84% of total exports.
leading to a persistent trade imbalance.
n India has a well-diversi ed portfolio of exports which
Despite textiles being 60% of total exports, it contributes
only 8.5% to total GDP. In recent decades, exports have spans across multiple sectors. Due to this, its export-to-GDP
steadily been declining as a share of GDP. In the 1990s, ratio is much higher, almost double that of Pakistan. This
exports stood at around 15% of GDP and have now fallen to avoidance of relying too heavily on a select few industries
around 10%. This ratio is among the lowest among similar helps to reduce risk.
developing economies.

Table 1: Pakistan Export Structure

Sector Share in Exports Key Products Key Risk
Textiles 60% Garments, yarn, fabrics High dependence
Agriculture 7–9% Rice, cotton, mangoes Climate risk
IT Services 3–4% Software, freelancing Growth potential
Others 25% Leather, chemicals, sports Moderate

Table 2: Regional Comparison

Export to GDP
Country Export Structure Strength
(Estimated)
Pakistan 10–11% High Dependance + Low Performance High Vulnerability
Bangladesh 13% High Dependance + High Performance Highly Specialized
India 22% Low Dependance + High Diversification Diversification
Sri Lanka 27% Moderate Dependance + Strong Export Ratio Balanced Model

ICMA’s Chartered Management Accountant, Mar-Apr 2026 31