Textile and clothing exports faced a 9.49% contraction during the initial two months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year. This decline can be attributed to the escalating production costs and liquidity constraints, as revealed by data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Friday.
In terms of figures, the value of textile and clothing exports decreased from $3.05 billion in July-August of the previous year to $2.766 billion during the same months this year. Unfortunately, this decline suggests that there are no early signs of a recovery in export earnings during the first half of FY24.
Caretaker Commerce Minister Gohar Ijaz recently announced the government’s intention to provide competitive energy prices to textile exporters in the region and resolve their cash flow issues by expediting pending sales tax refunds.
In FY23, textile and clothing exports experienced a 14.63% year-on-year contraction, reaching $16.50 billion. Overall, Pakistan’s total merchandise exports dwindled by 12.71% year-on-year, declining from $31.78 billion in the preceding fiscal year to $27.54 billion in FY23.
Further analysis of PBS data reveals that, in July-August, exports of readymade garments decreased in value by 11.95% while increasing in quantity by 25.71%. Knitwear exports, on the other hand, decreased in value by 13.42% but grew in quantity by 38.22%, while bedwear exhibited negative growth of 8.44% in value but grew by 2.72% in quantity.
Towel exports saw a slight increase of 6.52% in value and a substantial growth of 17.82% in quantity. In contrast, cotton cloth exports experienced a decline of 20.26% in value and a decrease of 12.14% in quantity. The export of raw cotton also plummeted by over 44% during the reviewed months.
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