Daily Times

Pakistani men’s apparel exports to China amounted to $21.03million, up more than 17% in the first 10 months of 2022 as compared with the same period in 2021, as per the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC).

According to the GACC, men’s or boys’ apparel increased by 15.29% worth $11.85 million while last year in the same period it was $ 10.28 million.

Data further showed that men’s or boys’ trousers, and breeches, nes, of cotton up 16.42% and crossed $6.49 million in the first 10 months of 2022, whereas in the same period last year it was $5.58million.

The bilateral trade in textile sectors improved very fast. Women’s garments exports from Pakistan to China crossed $8.32 million while home textiles crossed $6.74 million, witnessing an increase of 29% as compared with last year in the same period which was $5.25 million.

Asif Muhammad Sulehri CEO of Brizbane Group of Companies and textile exporter told China Economic Net that three major factors are behind the increasing export of Men’s clothing to China.

Pakistan is a major producer of cotton crops, and it is cheaper as compared to China so it has a benefit over them, he said, adding that Pakistan has cheap labor compared to China which is cost-effective for men’s apparel exports to China.

“In January 2020, Pakistan and China entered into the second phase of the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CPFTA2), under which China has eliminated tariffs on 313 priority tariff lines of Pakistan’s export and out of the 313 high-priority products that Pakistan can now export without duty payments to China, 130 are from the textiles sector,” he stated.

Sulehri said that the reduced tariffs on textile products, an expected surge in Chinese investment into Pakistan, and the potential shift of production base from China to Pakistan, may change the regional dynamics of textiles trade.

“Under the CPFTA2, many Pakistani textile products will now enjoy duty-free access to China, which has extended similar tariff reductions to other trading partners. Tariffs on readymade cotton garments (HS codes 61, 62, and 63), have been massively reduced, and men’s ensembles of cotton (HS code – 62032200), Pakistan’s top world export, were traded with China at 17.5 percent (MFN rate) which was reduced to 12 percent under Phase-I of FTA and has dropped to 0 percent in Phase-II of FTA,” Asif mentioned.

“Pakistani government’s target is raising the country’s textile and clothing exports from USD 13.5 billion in 2018 to USD 25 billion by 2025. As China has the world’s largest textile industry-in terms of both production and export— it is an inevitable trading partner for Pakistan to meet this 2025 target”, he added.

It is to be noted that Pakistan’s cotton yarn exports to China is one of the major items of Pakistan’s exports to the Chinese market.