December Sees Pakistan Textile Exports Reach $1.39 Billion

Textile and clothing exports in Pakistan experienced a rebound in December, bouncing back from the previous month’s decline, as reported by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The sector showed a growth of 3.33%, with exports reaching $1.39 billion, up from $1.35 billion in the same month of the previous year. In November, textile and garment exports had fallen by over 7% year-on-year.

While the first half of the year witnessed growth in textile and clothing exports in only two months—October and December—there is uncertainty about the sustainability of this upward trend in the coming months.

The export of textile and clothing fell by 4.97% to $8.28 billion in the first half of the year compared to $8.71 billion in the corresponding period of the previous year.

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The decline is attributed to increased production costs due to higher energy costs and a liquidity crunch.

Efforts were announced by the commerce ministry to offer regionally competitive energy prices to textile exporters and resolve cash flow issues by releasing pending sales tax refunds. However, these measures are yet to be implemented.

In terms of specific categories, PBS data showed that readymade garments saw a decline in value in December but surged in quantity. Knitwear showed growth in both value and quantity, while bedwear posted positive growth in both aspects.

Towel exports increased in value and quantity, but cotton cloth exports declined in value. Raw cotton and yarn exports, on the other hand, increased significantly.

The import of textile machinery declined by 53.52% in December, indicating a lower priority for expansion or modernization projects. Synthetic fiber and yarn imports also saw declines, while worn clothes imports posted growth.

In the first half of FY24, total exports increased by 5.25% to $14.99 billion. In contrast, oil imports experienced a dip of 13.78% to $8.005 billion in the first half of FY24 from $9.285 billion a year ago. This decline is attributed to reduced transportation amid slowing economic activities, impacting the profitability of local oil refineries.

Machinery imports increased by 11.45% to $3.6 billion in July-December, with a significant surge in mobile phone imports by over 118.45%. However, the transport sector’s imports witnessed a decline of 27.72% during the same period.