Pakistan services exports grew by 22.6 per cent year on year to $2.72 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, with information technology earnings doing most of the heavy lifting, according to data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reported by Dawn on Sunday.
The July–September quarter of FY27 marks one of the strongest starts to a fiscal year for the country’s services trade. Exports rose from $2.214 billion in the same quarter last year, while imports of services climbed 16.32 per cent to $3.55 billion. The services trade deficit was almost unchanged at $832 million, against $834.9 million a year earlier — a fall of just 0.33 per cent.
The figures underline how far services, and IT in particular, have come as an earner for Pakistan. A decade ago the sector was a footnote in the trade numbers. Today it is one of the few parts of the external account moving firmly in the right direction.
IT powers the surge in Pakistan services exports
Information technology is the engine behind the growth. IT services and freelancer earnings contributed about $1.246 billion in the quarter — more than 45 per cent of everything Pakistan earned from services exports — up roughly 17 per cent on the same period last year.
The momentum is not new. Pakistan’s IT exports hit a record $4.6 billion in FY2025-26, up 21 per cent on the previous year, making IT the country’s largest services export category at around 46 per cent of the total. September alone brought in $435 million of IT exports, the second-highest monthly figure on record, just behind the $437 million posted in December 2025.
Freelancer earnings crossed $1 billion for the first time in FY26, and the government has set its sights higher still. Under the Uraan Pakistan plan, the target is $10 billion a year in IT exports by FY29 — a goal that would need compound annual growth of about 27.8 per cent, according to ProPakistani’s analysis of State Bank figures.
Pakistan services exports: imports climb too, but the deficit holds steady
The headline is not one-sided. Services imports also rose sharply, up 16.3 per cent to $3.55 billion in the quarter, which is why the overall services deficit barely moved despite the export surge.
September illustrates the pressure. Services exports in the month rose 15.35 per cent to $930 million, from $806 million a year earlier, but the monthly services deficit jumped 84.3 per cent to $282.7 million, from $153.4 million, as imports grew faster than exports in that single month.
The contrast with goods trade is stark. Pakistan’s merchandise trade deficit widened 19.7 per cent year on year to $3.88 billion in October, with imports of $6.81 billion dwarfing exports of $2.93 billion. Over the first four months of FY27, the goods deficit reached $14.63 billion, up nearly 16 per cent. Services, in other words, are doing a job that goods trade is not.
Why Pakistan services exports matter for the economy
For an economy that has spent years wrestling with its external account, a growing services surplus engine matters. Pakistan services exports of $2.72 billion in a single quarter, led by IT, provide foreign exchange that does not depend on commodity prices or textile orders. Sustained growth in the sector also supports the rupee, which has steadied as export earnings have improved.
The shift is structural as much as cyclical. IT now accounts for more than a tenth of Pakistan’s total exports, and its share keeps rising. Unlike traditional exports, IT earnings are built on skilled labour rather than imported raw materials, so each dollar earned carries less import cost with it.
What to watch next for Pakistan services exports
The question now is whether the pace can hold. The next monthly releases from the State Bank and the Bureau of Statistics will show whether IT receipts stay near the $435 million September level and whether the December seasonal peak repeats last year’s record $437 million.
The bigger test is the $10 billion FY29 target. Reaching it needs growth of nearly 28 per cent a year, every year — a demanding rate, but the Q1 numbers show the sector is currently growing at roughly that pace. If Pakistan services exports keep expanding at more than 20 per cent while the deficit stays flat, the trade picture at the end of FY27 could look very different from the one Pakistan started the year with.
Sources: Dawn (via PakGold) and The News.
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