In January Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports recorded a 8.16 percent year-on-year surge to $1.167 billion which has taken the total exports for the first seven months of the current fiscal year to $7.81 billion, up 1.19 percent due to ease on raw material import duties giving impetus to the industry.
According to the report of PBS, compared to $1.139 billion in December, in January textile exports of 2.46 percent were recorded.
Mr Mirza Ikhtiar Baig, senior vice president of FPCCI (Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry) said that the rupee devaluation and reduced duties on imported raw materials would help the country’s annual exports reach $25 billion but there is no way that the target of $27 billion could be achieved for the current fiscal year.
Citing the central bank’s data FPCCI official said that during the period under review the private sector credit stood at Rs570billion of which Rs470 billion was working capital, which was usually invested in real estate and stock markets.
He said, “Only Rs100 billion would be spent on imports of plant and machinery. Having said that, with 14 percent markup and US dollar hedging at over Rs150, import of plant and machinery is not feasible at all. In January, textile machinery imports fell 1.36 percent to $55.93 million, while imports of textile machinery declined 10.64 percent to $308.608 million in the seven months of the current fiscal year.”
In January on year on year basis the cotton yarn exports increased 11.33 percent to $86.614 million. Knitwear exports increased 16.25 percent to $248.58 million. Bed-wear exports rose 6.69 percent to $193.30 million. Readymade garments’ exports increased 9.94 percent to $256.31 million, while cotton cloth fetched $181.369 million in exports revenue during the month under review, down 0.59 percent over the same month a year earlier.
Moreover, recurrent energy crisis remains unaddressed, as lack of availability of system gas and costlier re-gasified liquefied natural gas has forced several small mills to close operations which in fact is another negative for textile exports sector.
