Pakistan told the International Monetary Fund about a trade data gap of more than $18 billion. The gap spans five years, from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
A government report says officials have identified the cause. It says the figures have now been reconciled.
The findings come from a report reviewed by The News, a Pakistani newspaper. The outlet cited senior government officials who spoke on October 18, 2026.
The gap grew every year. Here is the year-by-year breakdown:
- 2020-21: $1.4 billion
- 2021-22: $2.53 billion
- 2022-23: $2.4 billion
- 2023-24: $5.57 billion
- 2024-25: $6.22 billion
By 2024-25, the gap had grown more than four times its size from 2020-21.
Two government systems track Pakistan's imports. One is PRAL, short for Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited. The other is PSW, the Pakistan Single Window.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics used PRAL data for years. But PRAL had not been updated since 2017. It missed several newer types of import declarations.
PSW data covers 15 types of import declarations. PRAL data covers only 7. This difference is the main reason the two systems do not match.
Most of the missing data falls under one import category, called the "facilitation scheme." Other categories showed only small differences.
