Pakistan’s textile exports displayed yet another stagnant performance during April 2019, registering a 1% YoY decline to close the month at US$1.14 billion, compared to US$1.15 billion in the same month last year. A poor performance by yarn exports has again been a major reason for the lackluster showing by textile exports. Ahmad Lakhani, a reaserch analyst at local brokerage house, said despite the Pak rupee devaluation of 14% YoY during ten months FY19, there has been no improvement in textile exports during the period. It remains to be seen if textile exports can pick up from current levels, considering significant devaluation, he added. On the other hand, the future of (1) gas subsidy for Punjab textile players and (2) sales tax refunds remains uncertain in the wake of the upcoming IMF program. Declining demand from China plus an increase in local demand for yarn amid cotton crop shortage led to a 19% YoY drop in Yarn exports. A poor performance by yarn exports (down 16% YoY in 10MFY19) has again been a major reason for the lacklustre showing by textile exports during the year so far (10MFY19 textile exports were stagnant). On the other hand, the value- added categories displayed a better performance during the month, led by garments (+14.7% YoY) and knitwear (+4.5% YoY), although for the latter, the monthly performance was significantly lower than 8.8% YoY growth. Lakhani said despite the Pak rupee devaluation of 14% YoY during 10MFY19, there has been no improvement in textile exports during the period. In fact, the rupee has devalued by 25% YoY since the beginning of the devaluation spree (Dec-2017) till the end of Apr-2019. One interesting observation is that during 10MFY19, textile exports increased by 23% YoY in rupee terms, whereas as mentioned, there was no change in dollar terms. This indicates that due to the competitive global environment, the exporters had to pass on at least the bulk of the positive impact of devaluation to international customers by reducing prices. This is also obvious when looking at the quantities exported by the major sub-categories of textile exports. Other than yarn and towels, all major categories witnessed a growth in terms of quantity exported during 10MFY19, he added. On a separate (but interesting) note, the central bank expects some improvement in economic activity in FY20 as mentioned in the latest monetary policy statement. They base this view on the upcoming IMF program, a rebound in agriculture sector and government incentives for export-oriented industries. “We hope this turns out to be true, however, we await details regarding what sort of incentives, if any, will be available for the export sector” , said Lakhani.