Pakistan’s textile exports plummet 29pc YoY

April proved to be the worst for textile exporters as the exports declined by 29 percent to $1.24 billion. Pakistan’s textile exports during the corresponding month of last year were .

74 billion.

The export declines in previous months was mainly restricted to cotton yarn and fabric, but in April, the exports in the textile sector were across the board. The value-added apparel sector took a big hit. According to the data released by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) country’s textile exports in the first 10 months of FY23 plunged by 14pc to $13.71bn from $15.97 billion a year earlier.

The decline in textile exports has raised concerns for the South Asian economy, which is already dealing with low foreign exchange reserves.

Textiles are the main source of foreign exchange earnings for the country. This sector is also the largest employer in the manufacturing sector.

The industry is facing multiple issues. The first is the dwindling global demand due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The second is the constant rise in the cost of doing business in the country. The government has also withdrawn this exporting sector’s concessional gas and power tariff.

The APTMA had already warned that the country’s textile exports could drop by $3bn this year as compared to last year, urging authorities to take an immediate and urgent intervention. APTMA Patron in Chief Gohar Ejaz, in a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, stated that the decline in textile exports has been progressively accelerating.

“Given the trajectory of decline, Pakistan is likely to fall short by $3 billion in textile exports from the exports achieved last year of $19.4 billion without taking into account any increase from newly installed capacity,” he warned.