ISLAMABAD, April 18: Pakistan`s textile and clothing exports have gone up by over 30 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal year against the corresponding period of last year.
It was due to rising demand for low value-added products and cotton prices in the international market that the exports from the country registered the increase.
In absolute terms, exports proceeds reached $9.880 billion during the period under review from $7.575 billion of the last year`s corresponding period, showed data of the statistics division issued on Monday.
The increase also dragged the share of textile and clothing sector of the country to 55.5 per cent this year from 53.8 per cent against the same period of the last year, reflecting an increase in one sector in overall exports proceeds from the country.
Thus, the overall exports proceeds reached to $17.798 billion during July-March this year from $14.072 billion of the last year.
Rising cotton prices in the international market have driven cotton-based exports from the country. But statistics also showed that import of textile machinery also recorded a growth of 80 per cent during the first nine months.
Textile manufacturers have started importing equipment for enhancing their capacity of production. However, it was not vivid from the figures that what kind of machinery was imported during the period under review.
As a result, the growth was witnessed across the whole value chain of textile and clothing sectors from raw materials to value-added sectors, excluding the tents manufacturing sector. Substantial growth in exports of garments and knitwear, two leading value-added sectors, has also been recorded because of government`s special support and subsidies to the sector.
Contrary to growth in textile and clothing, exports of traditional products or non-textile products were up by 21.87 per cent to $7.918 billion during July-March this year against $6.497 billion over the same period last year.
The growth in non-textile products was driven by a substantial increase in exports of food items, which recorded a growth of 25.55 per cent during the period under review. It was mainly driven by an increase in exports of wheat and meat from the country.
Product-wise details showed that exports of readymade garments increased by 37.75 per cent and knitwear by 32.71 per cent during July-March this year. Exports of bedwear also witnessed a growth of 22.28 per cent during the period under review.
Exports of raw cotton witnessed a growth of 22.41 per cent during the period despite the fact that this year the country was facing a shortfall of over 2 million bales due to floods in August. At the same time, export of cotton yarn was up by 37.21 per cent in July-March and cotton cloth also witnessed a growth of 26.60 per cent and towels 17.25 per cent. However, exports of tents declined by 38.91 per cent.
In traditional products, exports of sports goods have gone up by 8.60 per cent, value-added products of leather 20 per cent, footwear 12.28 per cent, surgical goods and instruments 2.66 per cent.
And the exports of engineering goods were up by 9.5 per cent during the period under review.
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