Pakistan's IT exports hit $435 million in September, second best month on record

Pakistan's IT exports reached $435 million in September, the second highest monthly figure on record and the strongest in nine months, State Bank of Pakistan data showed on 16 October.

The figure is up about 19 percent from September 2025 and 10 percent from August. Topline Securities attributed part of the monthly jump to a higher number of working days. Only December 2025, at $437 million, was higher. Exports for the first quarter of FY27, July to September, came to about $1.25 billion.

Short of the target

On a trailing twelve month basis, IT exports stand at $4.8 billion, up 20 percent from $4 billion a year earlier. For the full FY26, exports were $4.6 billion, up 20.6 percent from $3.8 billion in FY25.

Net IT exports, which strip out the foreign exchange the sector spends abroad, were $364 million in September, up 10 percent from a year earlier, about half the pace of the headline figure.

The government aims to lift annual IT exports to $10 billion by FY29 under its Uraan Pakistan plan. That requires compound annual growth of 27.8 percent, well above the roughly 20 percent the sector has managed over the past year. Industry experts say monthly receipts would probably need to reach $450 million to $500 million to support that pace, and that the sector needs to expand into emerging markets and address a shortage of skilled workers.

Services beyond software

Other business services, which covers research and development, consulting, legal and accounting, advertising and similar work, brought in $622 million in the quarter. Travel added $322 million and transport $295 million. Government services, including consular and military receipts, brought in about $152 million. Goods exports rose 7.6 percent to $8.454 billion, an increase of about $601 million, against the $505 million added by services.