Exports grew in double digits for the second month in a row in June at 10.22 per cent, but a rise in gold imports pushed the trade deficit to 11-month high of USD 11.76 billion.
Exports in June stood at USD 26.47 billion as compared to USD 24.02 billion in the same month last year.
The sectors that put up a good show include textiles (14.39 per cent), petroleum products (38.3 per cent), engineering (21.57 per cent), leather (15 per cent), marine products (27.49 per cent), oil seeds (44.4 per cent) and tobacco (31 per cent).
Imports increased by 8.33 per cent year-on-year to USD 38.24 billion in June.
According to exporters' body Fieo, outbound shipments have registered double-digit growth on account of improvement in the global demand.
"Demand is improving in advanced as well as in emerging markets. The figure is encouraging and we expect it to continue. This fiscal exports will be better than the previous fiscal," Fieo President Rafeeq Ahmed said.
In April-June period, exports grew by 9.31 per cent to USD 80.11 billion.
The 10.22 per cent growth in June, however, is lower than the 12.4 per cent expansion witnessed in May.
Trade deficit of USD 11.76 billion is a 11-month high.
The previous high was USD 12.2 billion recorded in July last year.
It was USD 11.23 billion in May. In June last year, it stood at USD 11.28.
The trade deficit rose in June as gold imports jumped 65.13 per cent to USD 3.12 billion from USD 1.88 billion in the same month last year, after registering a negative growth since October last year.
In October, 2013, gold imports stood at USD 1.3 billion, registering a growth of 62.5 per cent.
