The International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked Pakistan to release trade data differences worth $11 billion. Two government bodies reported the gap over the last two fiscal years. The issue raised questions about Pakistan import statistics 2025 and external sector data.
Local media said Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) reported imports $5.1 billion lower than the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) in FY 2023–24. The gap grew to $5.7 billion in FY 2024–25. Sources said PSW data was more detailed and also higher than State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) freight-on-board import numbers. SBP used its own data to calculate last year’s current account surplus.
Pakistani officials briefed the IMF this week. The lender had reached out to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) before review talks. The IMF asked Pakistan to adopt a clear communication policy on trade data to prevent mistrust between government and data users.
Officials admitted that PBS sent incomplete trade data to the International Trade Centre (ITC) in Geneva. They said the problem came from shifting the data source from PRAL to PSW, not from deliberate misreporting.
PRAL works under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). PSW is an independent body, but most of its staff come from customs. Sources said PSW data covered all imports, including trade facilitation schemes. PRAL under-reported imports, especially raw materials. The difference grew in FY 2023–24, FY 2024–25, and also in July–August of FY 2025.
The IMF told Pakistan to revise and update old trade data. It asked to share the updates with the IMF, media, and all local stakeholders. The IMF said lack of clarity on trade data creates doubt about official statistics.
The issue surfaced during a review of gaps between data from Pakistani importers and Chinese exporters. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set up a committee to investigate. Officials from FBR, PBS, PRAL, and PSW reviewed five years of trade data.
They found that PBS used a query system that had not been updated since 2017. This caused under-reporting of imports for several years.
PSW tracked 15 types of goods declarations. PRAL tracked only seven. The difference led to underreporting approximately $5.1billion in FY 2023 24 and $5.7billion in FY 2024 25. Most of the gap came from missing data on trade facilitation schemes.
The largest gap appeared in the textile sector, with imports under-reported by about $3 billion. The metal group also showed a gap of nearly $1 billion in FY 2023–24. Despite IMF advice, sources said PBS hesitated to revise past data.
Finance ministry officials feared that revised data would change net export results. They said this could affect Pakistan economic growth estimates for 2025.
