Textile and clothing exports from Pakistan were down by 12.40 percent during the first 9 months of this fiscal. For Pakistan textiles are the most important source of foreign exchange earnings and any decline in textile imports impacts its economy.
In the first nine months of this fiscal (July-March), the total textile exports stood at $12.47 billion against exports of 14.24 billion during the corresponding period of last year. During this period Pakistan’s total exports clocked $21.05 billion after a decline of 9.83 percent. The textile exports declined more in percentage terms than its total exports.
During this period the cotton yarn exports dipped by over 36.92 percent to $573 million from $908.48 million last fiscal. Cotton cloth exports dipped by 14.34 percent to $1.58 billion during this period from $1.795 billion during the period last fiscal. Knitwear exports during the period under discussion reached $3.39 billion recording a slump of 9.10 percent. The knitwear exports in the first nine months of last fiscal $3.72 billion. The exports of readymade garments suffered a decline of 7.20 percent to $2.67 billion from $2.86 billion last fiscal.
Bedwear exports fetched $2.03 billion depicting a decline of 17 percent, towel exports during the July-March period of this fiscal eased to $745 million which was 9.07 percent less than the exports of $819.5 million during the corresponding period of last fiscal year. The exports of the above 6 subsectors of textile and clothing had a share of $10.961 billion in exports of $12.47 billion. The value-added apparel sector (knitwear and readymade garments) together earned $6.06 billion. The total exports of yarn and fabric (basic textiles) stood at $2.153 billion. This means that the combined exports of yarn and cloth were less than the exports of readymade garments and much less than that of knitwear exports.
Another point worth noting is that the decline in yarn exports was almost three times more than the total decline in textile exports. The decline in cloth export was also higher than the total decline in textiles exports. The global recession and high inflation contributed to a decline in textile exports that were in line with the global trend as India and Vietnam suffered higher declines. Only Bangladesh was an exception.
Textile and clothing exports from Pakistan dipped over 12 percent in 9 months
