Pakistan's trade deficit with Gulf countries falls 26% to $2.85bn in July-September as imports drop 20%

Pakistan's trade deficit with its Gulf partners narrowed by 26.35% to $2.85 billion in the first quarter of FY2026-27 (July to September), down from $3.87 billion a year earlier, according to State Bank of Pakistan data compiled by Dawn. Lower imports did most of the work; exports also rose.

The headline numbers (July-September)

In rupees, the quarter's exports are worth about Rs 23,940 crore at today's interbank rate of Rs 276.82 to the dollar (dollar rate).

Country by country

The UAE took about 66% of Pakistan's exports to these seven countries and Saudi Arabia about 19%. Qatar and Kuwait together account for $947.9 million of the fall in import payments; both are big suppliers of LNG and oil products, and the Strait of Hormuz attacks have disrupted shipping from the Gulf this year.

What it means

A smaller deficit with the Gulf eases pressure on the rupee and on reserves, which Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Saturday now cover more than three months of imports. But part of the fall is fuel that did not arrive, not fuel that got cheaper, and that shows up as supply worries at home, including the LPG shortage. For the full year FY26, exports to the region fell just over 2% to $3.09bn and imports 4% to $16.41bn.

For businesses invoicing in dirhams or riyals, the dirham and riyal pages carry today's rates, and the currency converter does the sums. Remittance senders can check the same pages before transferring.