Pakistan’s Textile Exports Decline by 6.33% in FY2023-24’s First Four Months
Published on: November 18, 2023.
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Pakistan’s textile exports have experienced a decline of approximately 6.33 percent in the first four months (July-October) of the current fiscal year. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports stood at $5.565 billion, compared to $5.940 billion during the same period last year.
Overall, the country’s exports for the July-October period in fiscal year 2023-24 totaled $9.6 billion (provisional), showing a marginal decrease of 0.48 percent from the previous year’s $9.554 billion.
Data from the PBS reveals that textile exports saw a growth of 5.61 percent month-on-month in October 2023, reaching $1.437 billion. This is compared to $1.360 billion in September 2023. On a year-on-year basis, textile exports increased by 5.92 percent in October 2023, compared to $1.356 billion in October 2022.
In October 2023, total exports amounted to $2.690 billion (provisional), reflecting an 8.64 percent increase from September 2023’s $2.476 billion and a 12.84 percent increase from October 2022’s $2.384 billion.
A notable increase was seen in cotton yarn exports, which grew by 42.85 percent in the first four months of the current fiscal year, reaching $407.564 million. This is compared to $285.315 million during the same period last year. Year-on-year, cotton yarn exports registered an 87.88 percent growth, standing at $92.160 million. However, on a month-on-month basis, there was a negative growth of 18.85 percent compared to $113.567 million in September 2023.
Rice exports recorded a growth of 30.12 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year, totaling $710.788 million. This is compared to $546.261 million in the previous fiscal year. Similarly, food group exports also increased by 30.29 percent, reaching $1.944 billion, compared to $1.492 billion during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The major commodities in exports for October 2023 included knitwear, readymade garments, bed wear, rice others, cotton cloth, oil seeds, nuts, and kernels, towels, cotton yarn, rice basmati, and made-up articles (excluding towels and bedwear).
The decline in the textile and clothing sector’s exports can be attributed to rising production costs and a liquidity crunch. The Caretaker Commerce Minister, Gohar Ejaz, announced last month that the government plans to address these challenges by offering regionally competitive energy prices to textile exporters and resolving cash flow issues through the release of pending sales tax refunds. However, the implementation of this decision is still pending.
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