Pakistan’s exports to Middle East fall 8pc in April

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s exports to the Middle East declined 8pc year-on-year to $230.079 million in April, according to data compiled by the State Bank of Pakistan, reflecting the impact of the ongoing conflict on the country’s trade with the region.

The monthly drop was driven by lower shipments to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan. Exports to Saudi Arabia recorded only slight growth in April, marking a reversal from the stronger trend seen earlier.

At the same time, imports from the Middle East recovered in April and rose 5pc to $1.548 billion, compared with $1.474bn in the same month last year. The increase was led mainly by the UAE, Kuwait and Jordan, while imports from Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia fell.

This was the second contraction since March, indicating that Pakistan’s import flows remain highly sensitive to geopolitical developments, particularly in energy corridors.

Trade figures for July-April

During the first 10 months of FY26, Pakistan’s exports to the Middle East slipped 2pc to $2.635bn from $2.676bn a year earlier. Over the same period, imports from the region declined 3pc to $13.898bn, compared with $14.370bn in the corresponding period of the previous year.

As a result, Pakistan’s trade deficit with the Middle East narrowed 4pc to $11.263bn in July-April FY26 from $11.694bn a year earlier.

The data also showed that in FY25, imports from the region increased 5.64pc to $17.081bn from $16.169bn in FY24. The trade deficit with the Middle East in FY25 widened 7.37pc to $13.974bn from $13.014bn a year earlier.

Country-wise breakdown

Exports to Saudi Arabia fell 4pc to $583.94m in 10MFY26 from $607.21m in the same period last year. However, exports to the kingdom registered an uptick in April. Imports from Saudi Arabia rose 4pc to $3.316bn in July-April FY26 from $3.176bn a year earlier, although they declined 2pc year-on-year in April.

Exports to the UAE edged up 0.35pc to $1.786bn in 10MFY26 from $1.780bn a year ago. On a monthly basis, however, exports to the UAE dropped 7pc in April. Imports from the UAE increased 5pc year-on-year to $6.944bn in the first 10 months of FY26, while April imports from the country jumped 30pc from a year earlier.

Among other regional markets, exports in April fell 39pc to Bahrain, 21pc to Qatar, 36pc to Kuwait and 26pc to Jordan on a year-on-year basis.

On the import side, purchases from Bahrain dropped 73pc and from Qatar 97pc in April, while imports from Kuwait and Jordan posted increases.

Energy dependence

The data highlighted Pakistan’s continued dependence on energy imports from the region. The UAE and Saudi Arabia together accounted for 90pc of Pakistan’s energy imports from the Middle East. Other suppliers, including Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, remained secondary contributors despite their export capacity.