During the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, textile and clothing exports from Pakistan experienced a significant contraction of 14.72%, amounting to $15.03 billion.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released data on Monday, attributing the decline in production to increased production costs and a liquidity crunch.
Export figures for May present a grim outlook, as they witnessed a sharp decline of 19.57%, falling to $1.32 billion compared to $1.64 billion in the corresponding month of the previous year.
The government is facing a challenging task in meeting its export target, further straining the country’s depleting foreign exchange reserves. The textile and clothing sector, which is a major contributor to exports, is grappling with multiple obstacles.
These challenges include soaring energy costs, delays in refund payments, scarcity of raw materials, and a global decline in demand, despite the significant depreciation of the local currency.
The combination of these factors is hindering export growth and posing a serious threat to the country’s economic stability.
The textile export sector has experienced a consistent trend of negative growth throughout the current fiscal year, except for a slight increase in August 2022, mainly due to a backlog from the previous month.
According to the PBS data, exports of readymade garments declined by 10.28% in value during the first 11 months of FY23, but there was a growth of 46.38% in quantity. Similarly, knitwear witnessed a 12.94% decrease in value but grew by 9.34% in quantity. Bedwear posted negative growth of 18.53% in value and 22.61% in quantity.
Towel exports slightly decreased by 10.56% in value and 12.93% in quantity, while exports of cotton cloth dipped by 16.87% in value and 24.22% in quantity.
Among primary commodities, cotton yarn exports experienced a decline of 33.75%, while exports of yarn other than cotton decreased by 32.91%.