Pakistan’s export resilience is coming less from raw cotton, yarn and fabric, and more from garments and made-up textile articles.
Pakistan’s value-added textile exports reached $11.299 billion during July–March FY26, up around 1% from $11.201 billion in the same period last year, according to the Pakistan Textile Council’s monthly export analysis reported by Wealth Pakistan. The performance underlines the continuing shift in Pakistan’s textile export base toward apparel and made-up articles under chapters 61–63.
Non-knit apparel leads the advance
The strongest growth came from non-knit apparel, where exports rose 3.8% to $3.208 billion during July–March FY26. This made woven garment exports the clearest positive contributor within the value-added basket.
Made-up textile articles remained the largest category, increasing modestly by 0.6% to $4.347 billion, compared with $4.323 billion a year earlier. Knitwear, however, slipped 1.1% to $3.743 billion, from $3.787 billion in the corresponding period of FY25.
Monthly data shows weak demand
March was softer. Apparel and made-up textile exports stood at $1.087 billion, down 8% year-on-year from $1.177 billion in March 2025. On a month-on-month basis, however, exports improved 2% from $1.065 billion in February 2026, suggesting some recovery after a weaker February.
Value addition is carrying the sector
The broader textile and apparel sector remained under pressure, with total exports at $13.58 billion in July–March FY26, down 0.5% from $13.65 billion a year earlier. Traditional textiles, covering chapters 50–60, declined 7% to $2.284 billion, reflecting continued stress in cotton, yarn and fabric exports.
The figures reinforce a structural message for Pakistan’s textile industry: export stability now depends increasingly on finished and semi-finished consumer products, not upstream commodity textiles. The next signal to watch is whether non-knit apparel can sustain growth while knitwear returns to expansion, particularly as global buyers remain cautious on inventory, prices and sourcing risk.
