Pakistan and Italy are moving towards strengthening commercial and economic ties and the business communities in both countries are hopeful that the year 2023 would record a higher trade volume.
Pakistan’s goods and services trade with Italy witnessed a surplus of 104.10 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year (2022-23) as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
According to the state-run news agency APP, the trade surplus during the months under review was recorded at $198.550 million against $97.276 million last year, showing 10.65 percent growth.
The overall exports to Italy were recorded at US $401.020 million during July-October this year against exports of US $327.871 million during the same months last year, indicating an increase of 22.31 percent, SBP data revealed.
Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, exports to Italy during October 2022 also increased by 23.63 percent from US $ 75.095 million to US $ 92.842 million.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data suggested that month-on-month exports to Italy dipped by 16.38 percent during October 2022 as compared with exports of US $ 111.038 million in September 2022.
However, overall Pakistan’s exports to all countries witnessed an increase of 2.60 percent in four months, from US $9576.107 million to US $9825.020 million, the SBP data revealed. Meanwhile, imports from Italy during the months under review were recorded at US $202.470 million against US $230.595 million of last year, showing a decrease of 12.19 percent in July-October (2022-23).
Italy and Pakistan have had a long history of economic and trade relations. Italy is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners in Europe, and Pakistan is one of Italy’s biggest trading partners in Asia.
Italy imports a variety of goods from Pakistan, including textiles, apparel, leather products, and food products. Pakistan is also a major supplier of raw materials to Italy, including cotton, wool, leather and marble stones.
Italy exports a range of products to Pakistan, including machinery, vehicles, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Italy is also a major provider of technical assistance and expertise to Pakistan, particularly in the fields of infrastructure development and renewable energy.
The economic and trade relationship between Italy and Pakistan has grown significantly in recent years, with the two countries working to expand and diversify their trade ties. In 2019, Italy and Pakistan signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to increase trade and investment between the two countries and boost economic cooperation.
Overall, Italy and Pakistan have a strong and growing economic and trade relationship, with both countries working to increase cooperation and expand opportunities for mutual benefit.
The article has been written by Islamabad-based socio-economic development expert Mughal Ahmed Bashir