Pakistan Notifies IMF Of Trade Data Gap Surpassing $18 Billion

Pakistan informed the IMF about an import data gap exceeding $18 billion across five fiscal years after reviewing two recording systems.

NationPulse Desk

Oct 19, 2026 · 11:32 AM 3 min read

Key takeaways

Pakistan reported a trade data discrepancy exceeding $18 billion across five fiscal years to the International Monetary Fund.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics examined differences between data from PRAL and the Pakistan Single Window.

The yearly gap grew from $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 to $6.224 billion in fiscal year 2024-25.

An investigation began in 2025 due to a trade mismatch between Pakistan and China.

The government stated that the discrepancy has been identified and reconciled.

Pakistan informed the International Monetary Fund about an import data gap exceeding $18 billion across five fiscal years, following a review that revealed differences in two systems tracking incoming shipments. Authorities stated that officials have pinpointed and reconciled the gap.

A senior oversight committee delivered its conclusions to the International Monetary Fund after the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics studied variances between figures gathered through PRAL and the Pakistan Single Window, based on a national daily publication.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics drafted a comprehensive study regarding the shift between the two information platforms, sending it to the Ministry of Planning and the Ministry of Finance. Officials also provided this document to the International Monetary Fund.

The gap spans from fiscal year 2020-21 through fiscal year 2024-25, with the difference between the two sources growing substantially during this timeframe. The committee identified the following yearly variances between PRAL and Pakistan Single Window records:

FY2020-21: $1.4 billion
FY2021-22: $2.527 billion
FY2022-23: $2.402 billion
FY2023-24: $5.572 billion
FY2024-25: $6.224 billion

The difference climbed from $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 to past $6.2 billion in fiscal year 2024-25. Over the five-year span, the total accumulated variance surpassed $18 billion.

The assessment showed that the gaps appeared within specific types of goods declarations logged in the platforms, rather than spreading evenly across all incoming shipment records.

China Trade Mismatch Triggered Investigation

Scrutiny began in 2025 when the Federal Board of Revenue, following instructions from the Prime Minister Office, established a panel to examine mismatched bilateral trade numbers involving China.

The examination centered on the difference between recorded Pakistani imports from China and exports reported by China to Pakistan. The panel discovered that import numbers used by the Federal Board of Revenue Directorate of Research and Statistics and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, produced via the WeBOC framework, had not seen comprehensive updates since 2017.

Consequently, incoming shipments logged under newer Goods Declarations failed to appear in the official reporting dataset. These missing categories comprised a growing volume of trade, resulting in underreported import figures.

The panel suggested connecting the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics and the Directorate of Research and Statistics with the Pakistan Single Window, conducting annual reviews of reporting protocols, and setting up bilateral trade data sharing systems with key trading partners.

It additionally advised tighter cooperation among the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Chinese officials, and the International Trade Centre to guarantee that Chinese exports headed to Afghanistan via Pakistan appeared correctly in trade metrics.

Driven by these suggestions, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics hosted consultation sessions in June and July 2025. Attendees expressed worries that Pakistan Single Window numbers displayed a bigger trade deficit, warning that any shift in the official source required careful handling given ongoing programs with the International Monetary Fund.

The finance minister later established a panel to look into moving from PRAL reporting to Pakistan Single Window figures. The evaluation compared 15 Goods Declaration types under the Pakistan Single Window against seven under the PRAL system used by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

The evaluation pointed to the facilitation scheme category as the primary driver behind the expanding gap. Other categories displayed relatively small differences, implying that the inconsistencies centered inside newly established or broadened reporting groups.

The conclusions demonstrate that varying coverage of import declarations drove the widening split between the two information sources.

The administration noted that authorities have found and reconciled the variance. The assessment additionally advised better system integration, routine reporting checks, and shared information with key trading partners to lower the chances of similar mismatches down the line.

Questions and answers

What caused the trade data discrepancy in Pakistan?

The discrepancy resulted from differences between two systems used to record imports, specifically PRAL and the Pakistan Single Window, with missing categories in older datasets contributing to underreported figures.