Pakistan’s Textile And Apparel Exports Rise Nearly 13% In August

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), textile and apparel exports grew by nearly 13% in August, reaching a value of $1.64 billion, up from $1.45 billion in the same month last year. This marks a significant rebound from July’s 3.1% decline and a year-on-year drop of 0.93% in June, highlighting concerns about potential challenges facing the industry.

In the first two months of the fiscal year (July-August), textile and apparel exports increased by 5.4%, totaling $2.92 billion compared to $2.76 billion during the same period last year. Despite this growth, experts remain wary of the impact of strict tax policies introduced for the fiscal year 2024-25, which may affect the competitiveness of Pakistan’s textile sector relative to regional rivals.

Notably, apparel exports surged by 27.8% in August, with knitted goods seeing a 15.4% rise in export value. Bedding exports increased by 15.2% and towel exports rose by 15.7%. However, yarn exports faced a steep decline of 47.7% year-on-year.

On the import side, synthetic fibre imports fell by 8.3%, and synthetic and artificial yarn imports dropped by 13.6%. Conversely, other textile-related imports grew by 51.5%, with raw cotton imports rising by 7.6% and second-hand clothing imports increasing by 22%. Overall, Pakistan’s total exports in August rose by 16.8%, reaching $2.76 billion, up from $2.36 billion in the same period last year.