By Moaaz Manzoor

Pakistan’s exports rose to $2.48 billion in April 2026, driven largely by stronger textile shipments as well as higher exports of petroleum products, sports goods and chemicals, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

PBS data showed total exports reached $2.479 billion in April 2026, compared with $2.264 billion in March 2026 and $2.174 billion in April 2025.

In rupee terms, exports were recorded at Rs691,589 million in April 2026 against Rs632,318 million in March 2026 and Rs610,190 million in April 2025.

Overall exports increased 9.49 percent in dollar terms and 9.37 percent in rupee terms compared with March 2026. On a year-on-year basis, exports rose 14.04 percent in dollar value and 13.34 percent in rupee value compared with April 2025.

The textile group remained the country’s largest export sector during the month, generating export earnings of $1.480 billion in April 2026, compared with $1.329 billion in March 2026 and $1.221 billion in April 2025.

In rupee terms, textile exports stood at Rs412,948 million in April 2026 against Rs371,165 million in March 2026 and Rs342,656 million in April 2025.

Textile exports increased 11.38 percent in dollar terms and 11.26 percent in rupee terms over March 2026, while year-on-year growth reached 21.27 percent in dollar value and 20.51 percent in rupee value.

Among major textile categories, knitwear exports rose to $413.87 million in April 2026 from $330.84 million in March 2026 and $332.90 million in April 2025.

Readymade garments generated export earnings of $350.77 million, compared with $301.37 million in March 2026 and $302.66 million in April 2025.

Bedwear exports stood at $237.28 million in April 2026, while cotton cloth exports reached $145.84 million. Towel exports were recorded at $88.94 million during the month.

PBS data also showed notable growth in petroleum product exports. Petroleum products, excluding top naphtha, generated export earnings of $69.30 million in April 2026, compared with $53.25 million in March 2026 and $45.64 million in April 2025.

Sports goods exports increased to $38.84 million in April 2026 from $36.38 million in March 2026 and $29.12 million in April 2025.

Within the category, football exports rose to $24.53 million in April 2026 compared with $22.24 million in March 2026 and $17.52 million in April 2025, while gloves exports stood at $4.03 million.

Chemical and pharmaceutical exports also posted healthy growth. Exports of chemicals and pharmaceutical products increased to $137.08 million in April 2026 from $101.42 million in March 2026, although they remained slightly below the $138.78 million recorded in April 2025.

Pharmaceutical product exports stood at $23.34 million in April 2026, while plastic material exports reached $28.80 million.

Engineering goods exports rose to $28.61 million in April 2026 from $25.95 million in March 2026 and $26.13 million in April 2025.

However, food exports recorded a slight decline during the month. The food group generated export earnings of $395.58 million in April 2026 compared with $400.21 million in March 2026 and $414.44 million in April 2025.

Rice exports fell to $187.06 million in April 2026 from $200.55 million in March 2026 and $206.30 million in April 2025, mainly due to lower non-basmati rice shipments.

Fruit exports dropped to $4.71 million in April 2026 from $8.33 million in March 2026, while vegetable exports declined to $8.79 million from $10.84 million over the same period.

Despite the decline in food exports, meat and meat preparations exports increased to $41.46 million in April 2026 from $32.29 million in March 2026 and $35.04 million in April 2025. Spice exports also rose to $6.84 million during the month.

Meanwhile, cement exports declined sharply to $20.25 million in April 2026, compared with $41.92 million in March 2026 and $23.64 million in April 2025.

The latest PBS data suggests that Pakistan’s export performance in April 2026 remained supported by strong value-added textile shipments and selected manufacturing exports, helping offset weaker performance in food and construction-related export categories.

Credit: INP-WealthPk