ISLAMABAD    -  The exports of sports goods from the country witnessed decrease of 11.84 per cent during the first quarter (Q1) of the ongoing financial year (2020-21) against the exports of corresponding period of last year.

The country exported sports goods worth $66.681 million during July-September (2020-21) against the exports of $75.633 million during July-September (2019-20), showing negative growth of 11.84 per cent, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. During the months under review, the export of footballs decreased by 22.87 per cent from $42.040 million last year to $32.426 million during current year while the exports of gloves also declined by 16.02 per cent from $ 21.954 million to $17.681 million. 

 However, the exports of all other sports good witnessed an increase of 32.18 per cent by going up from $12.539 million to $16.574 million during the period under review. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports of sports products during September 2020 decreased by 3.75 per cent to $21.356 million when compare to the exports of $22.187 million during September 2019, the PBS data revealed. During the period under review, the exports of footballs and gloves dipped by 20.04 and 3.08 per cent respectively. However, the export of all other sports products increased by 59.75 per cent. 

On month-on-month basis, the exports of sports products increased by 11.51 per cent in September 2020 when compared to the exports of $ 19.152 million in August 2020. During the month under review, the exports of footballs and gloves increased by 14.12 and 5.37 per cent respectively while the export other sports products of gloves decreased by 13.07 per cent, the data revealed. It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandise trade deficit increased by 2.02 per cent during the first quarter of current fiscal year (2020-21) as compared to the deficit of the corresponding period of last year.