ISLAMABAD – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Pakistan to publicly clarify an $11 billion gap in trade data reported by two government bodies over the past two fiscal years, raising concerns about the reliability of the country’s external sector statistics.
Officials said imports recorded by Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) were $5.1 billion lower than those reported by Pakistan Single Window (PSW) in FY2023-24, with the gap widening to $5.7 billion the following year.
The IMF discussed the issue with the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and the Ministry of Planning, urging a clear communication policy to explain the discrepancies and prevent mistrust.
Authorities told the IMF that missing data stemmed from Pakistan’s transition from PRAL to PSW as the main trade data source, not from deliberate underreporting. The lender has asked Islamabad to correct and update past figures and share them transparently with the public and media.
