Pakistan's textile & apparel exports down 11.44% to $1.3 bn in July

Pakistan's textile and garment exports have been facing numerous challenges during the last fiscal. The global economic slowdown has adversely affected textile exports for major supplier countries, including Pakistan. The country is trying to streamline its textile exports after political unrest a few months ago. 

Textile exports contributed 63.42 per cent to Pakistan’s total goods exports of $2.067 billion in July 2023. The share was 59.50 per cent in the total exports of $27.734 billion during fiscal 2022-23. 

Category-wise, knitwear exports slipped by 16.13 per cent year-on-year to $364.54 million during the period under review, while exports of non-knit readymade garments were down 9.80 per cent to $274.73 million. 

Regarding textiles, cotton yarn exports increased by 35.96 per cent to $97.03 million, while exports of cotton fabric fell 22.56 per cent to $140.94 million in July 2023. Bedwear exports declined by 14.60 per cent to $216.91 million during this period, the data showed. 

On the import front, synthetic fibre imports increased by 0.52 per cent year-on-year to $59.69 million, while imports of synthetic and artificial silk yarn dropped by 4.06 per cent to $58.67 million in the same period. 

Meanwhile, the value of textile machinery imports by Pakistan in July 2023 decreased significantly by 63.54 per cent year-on-year to $13.74 million, reflecting a drop in new investments. 

In fiscal 2022-23, ended on June 30, textile and garment exports from Pakistan decreased by 14.63 per cent to $16.501 billion over $19.329 billion in the previous fiscal 2021-22. Earlier, the country had noticed a rise of 25.53 per cent in 2020-21. In fiscal 2019-20, the exports amounted to $12.526 billion. 

ALCHEMPro News Desk (KUL)