Raza Khan

Pakistan’s textile exports grew by 4% during the first quarter (July-September) of the current fiscal year as compared to the same period of last year, according to All Pakistan Textiles Mills Associations (APTMA).

Provisional data released by APTMA shows that Pakistan’s textile exports rose to $4.62 billion during Q1 of fiscal year 2022-23 from $4.42 billion in the corresponding period of 2021-22.

Textile exports in Q1 declined by 9.58% when compared to $5.11 billion in the preceding quarter (April-June). Textile exports were recorded at $1.56 billion in September against $1.49 billion in the corresponding month of last year, registering a surge of 5%, data shows.

The country’s textile exports slightly fell by 1.26% in September as compared to 1.58 billion in August.

Asad Naqvi, APTMA’s Senior Analyst, said in a statement that growth in textile exports remained below expectations due to energy supply issues. 

Naqvi feared that textile exports could further go down in the coming months if reliable and affordable energy supplies were not made available.

“The export sector, with a target of $25 billion exports during the current fiscal year and over $2 billion per month, is facing an energy supply problem,” he said.

According to APTMA’s data, textile exports surged by only 1% in July and by 8% in August to $1.48 billion and $1.58 billion, respectively.

APTMA has repeatedly warned that Pakistan’s textile exports could further decline by $400 million to $500 million each month if the problem of energy shortage is not resolved.

According to APTMA, there are various other factors halting exports, including increase in prices of petroleum products, expensive raw material and global financial crisis.

Pakistan’s textile exports were registered at $19.329 billion during 2021-22 against $15.4 billion in the preceding year, with an increase of 25.53%.

Textile exports are the major portion of the country’s overall exports, and this sector hosts over 50% of the industrial workforce. Pakistan’s textile exports in 2021-22 accounted for 60.92% of the country’s total exports of $31.76 billion.

According to Textiles and Apparel Policy 2020-25, the textile export target for the current year has been set at $25 billion.

APTMA said that Pakistan would also have to import five billion bales of cotton during the current year to fulfil the demand of the textile industry. The recent floods in the country also damaged the cotton crop.

According to the Board of Investment (BoI), Pakistan is the eighth largest exporter of textile products in Asia.

 Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk