ISLAMABAD, Pakistan 

Pakistan’s export figures climbed for a second straight month in December while South Asian rivals India and Bangladesh “showed negative growth,” the country’s premier said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Imran Khan praised Pakistani exporters and the Commerce Ministry for the achievement.

“I have received the regional export trends and this shows that, compared to our exports, the exports of India and Bangladesh for Nov/Dec 2020 showed negative growth,” he said on Twitter.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the country’s exports increased 8.32% from $2 billion in November 2019 to $2.17 billion in November 2020.

The December 2020 figure of $2.35 billion was 18.3% higher than the previous year’s total of $1.98 billion.

Archrival India’s exports were down by 9.07% in November and 0.80% in December.

According to India’s Commerce Ministry, merchandise exports slipped from $25.77 billion in November 2019 to $23.43 billion in November 2020.

The country’s exports in April-November 2020 stood at $173.49 billion, falling 17.84% from $211.17 billion during the same period in 2019.

In December 2020, India’s exports totaled $26.89 billion, a marginal decrease of 0.80% from the previous year’s figure of $27.11 billion.

The country’s total exports in April-December 2020 amounted to $200.55 billion, marking a decrease of 15.8% from $238.27 billion during the same period in 2019.

With the Bangladeshi economy also hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, its exports showed a nominal increase of 0.76% to reach $3.07 billion in November 2020 from $3.05 billion the previous year, according to data from the Export Promotion Bureau cited by daily The Financial Express.

The country’s overall exports in July-November 2020 stood at $15.92 billion, marking a 0.93% rise from $15.77 billion during the same period in 2019, the data showed.