Covid-19 disruption impacted global textiles and clothing patterns in many ways. The apparel trade declined in 2019 and 2020 while trade volumes of personal protective equipment (PPE) increased.
The Pakistan exports of apparel and PPE increased during the pandemic.
Pakistan was perhaps the only country that registered an increase in textiles and clothing exports, perhaps because it opened its economy much earlier than its competing economies. According to the World Trade Statistical Review 2021 report released by the World Trade Organization (WTO), the textiles and apparel trade patterns in 2020 include both continuities and new trends affected by the pandemic and companies’ evolving production and sourcing strategies in response to the shifting business environment.
Driven by increased personal protective equipment (PPE) production, global textile exports grew by 16.1 percent in 2020, reaching $353bn. In comparison, affected by lockdown measures, worsened economy, and consumers’ tighter budget for discretionary spending, global apparel export decreased by nearly 9 percent in 2020, totaling 8bn, the worst performance in decades.
The report further states that as economic activities returned in the second half of 2020, the world clothing export quickly rebounded to around 95 percent of the pre-covid level by the end of 2020. The unexpected resurgence of COVID cases in summer 2021, especially the delta variant, caused new market uncertainties.
Overall, the world textile and apparel trade recovery process from COVID-19 will differ from our experiences during the 2008 global financial crisis.
Pakistani apparel exports however continue to post healthy growth while demand for PPE has declined.
The report further pointed out that COVID-19 did not shift the competitive landscape of the world textile exports; Meanwhile, textile exports from China and Vietnam gained new momentum during the pandemic.
