Before Corona Virus

In 2018, Pakistan exported mostly knitwear (13.2 percent of total exports); articles of apparel and
clothing accessories (11.3 percent); bedwear (10.4 percent); cotton fabrics (9.4 percent); rice (7.4
percent) and fruits, vegetables & preparation thereof (2.9 percent). Main export partners are the US
(17.2 percent of the total export), China (7.7 percent), the UK (7.6 percent) and Germany (5.6 percent).
Pakistan’s balance of trade is negative amounting to 237365 million PKR, which is the amount by which
imports are more than the exports. The new government filled this gap by a large percentage by putting
embargos and quotas on imports, however exports remained the same.
Most of the capital and other goods used in Pakistan export manufacturing industry are manufactured
and imported by China. When China reported the outbreak of Corona Pandemic in January 2020, soon
after most of the flights, passenger and otherwise were halted to and from China. This took a toll on
China’s exports, but also took a toll on Pakistan’s exports not only because Pakistan could not get the
raw materials from China, but also because China is a huge market for Pakistani exports such as Citrus,
Apples and a few other agricultural products.

Present Day
In the present day situation, when Pakistan is amidst the corona pandemic with a partial national
lockdown, most of the export industry is still practically not functional. A huge chunk of Pakistan’s
exports are textile related and cotton related. Textile manufacturing industry is not functional at the
present moment, due to the lockdown imposed by the provincial governments.
However, there is another side to the affect his pandemic has on Pakistan’s exports. In February 2020,
when only China had been adversely affected by the pandemic, their airspace was halted. This increased
orders to Pakistanis from all over the world, which brought a 13082 percent increase in the exports.
However, soon after the pandemic reached Pakistan and has affected more than 5000 people as of
today. There has been a partial national lockdown imposed on the country for the last month and
Pakistan’s airspace is closed. Exporters are still working, dry ports and sea ports are functional, and a
few items are still being exported or it is predicted that they will be soon, once the government is
successful in handling the corona outbreak. The advantage and the new customer base that we have
gained due to the corona virus can be possibly maintained if the exporters and manufacturers maintain
and improve the quality of their products

Future Prediction
The pandemic is going to cost billions of dollars to the economy. The recent government has been
aggressively working on increasing the exports in the previous year. Textile and agricultural sectors were
being encouraged by being given subsidies, relaxations and also because Pakistan lowered the value of
its rupee which will benefit Pakistan in the future. With the Corona outbreak, travel bans etc. it has
taken a toll on the exports. UK has decided to help Pakistan in its exports which is going to be beneficial
to PAK after the pandemic ends. However, due to the hindrance in the general economics of the country
due to the pandemic, Pakistan will not be as fast paced in increasing its exports as it was projected to do
so before the pandemic outbreak was known.
References:
https://dailytimes.com.pk/574670/economy-of-pakistan-after-coronavirus-outbreak/
https://tradingeconomics.com/pakistan/exports
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/631789-coronavirus-pakistan-may-face-initial-economic-loss-of-rs1-
3tr