The clothing and textile sector in Pakistan is anticipating a drop of at least 30% in the value of exports after the recent floods wiped out much of the country’s usually plentiful cotton crop, and the sector is seeking out strategies to buy cheaper cotton abroad.
Emad Raza, Chairman of the Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Ferozepur Road (MEFRA), in Lahore, said the floods may put such plans in jeopardy.
At least a 30% to 35% decline is now foreseen in the exports of garments and textiles in the current fiscal year ending 30 June 2023, he said.
“We can’t make artificial fibre indigenously, therefore cotton is our real strength and since a major chunk of the cotton crop is destroyed in Punjab and Sindh provinces the country’s two major cotton producing areas due to flooding, we need to import cotton that would definitely increase the cost of our production,” he said.
Textile and garment exports from Pakistan amounted to US$21bn in the fiscal year 2021-22, said the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), but now, due to the devastation caused by flooding, industry experts fear a probable cancellation of many export orders by international brands.
With more than 40% cotton production in Sindh province, southern parts of the Punjab province and parts of Balochistan inundated, the APTMA and other industries fear the textile and garment exports may fall from shrinking production and increased costs.
“The government’s vision to achieve the export volume of US$50bn in the coming years”.
