Daily Times

The exports of textile commodities witnessed an increase of 4.88 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The textile exports were recorded at $6044.536 million in July-November (2020-21) against the exports of $5763.117 million in July-November (2019-20), showing growth of 4.88 percent, according to latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The textile commodities that contributed in positive trade growth included knitwear, exports of which increased from $1320.740 million last year to $1510.129 million during the current year, showing growth of 14.34 percent.

Likewise, exports of bed wear increased by 12.28 percent by growing from $1013.648 to $1138.174 while the exports of towels increased by 14.24 percent, from $317.488 million to $362.702 million.

The exports of tents, canvas and tarplin grew by 58.05 percent, from $31.786 to $50.238, while the exports of readymade garments increased by 4.36 percent, from $1155.536 million to $1205.167 million and the exports of madeup article (excluding towels and bed wear) increased by 15.53 percent, from $265.824 million to $307.115 million.

Meanwhile, the commodities that witnessed negative growth in traded included raw cotton, exports of which declined by 96.34 percent, from $14.281 million to $0.523 million while the exports of cotton yarn decreased by 37.34 percent, from $486.017 to $198.357.

The exports of cotton cloth also decreased by 8.73 percent, from $847.108 million to $773.171, yarn (other than cotton yarn) by 16.69 percent, from $12.660 million to $10.547 million, art silk and synthetic textile by 1.33 percent from $135.851 million to $134.042 million.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the textile exports increased by 9.27 percent during the month of November 2020 as compared to the same month of last year. The exports during November 2020 were recorded at $1286.063 million against the exports of $1176.944 million.

On month-on-month basis, the exports from the country witnessed nominal decrease of 0.20 percent during November 2020 when compared to the exports of $1288.620 million in October 2020.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country’s merchandize exports increased by 2.11 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year as compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The exports during July-November (2020-21) were recorded at $9.737 billion against the exports of $9.536 billion in July-November (2019-20), showing growth of 2.11 percent according to PBS data.

The imports into the country during the period under review also increased 1.29 percent by going up from $19.175 billion last year to $19.422 billion during the current fiscal year.

Based on the figures, there has been slight increase of 4.8 percent in the trade deficit during the period under review as it was recorded at $9.685 billion compared to the deficit of $9.639 billion during last year

The present government of Pakistan has taken special measures to further develop textile industry and recently announced lucrative energy package to help recuperate from the COVID-19 shock was also commendable. These views were expressed by Cheng Xizhong, visiting professor at Southwest University of Political Science and Law said. Recently announced lucrative energy package to help textile industry with peak electricity rates, offers reduced tariffs on additional power consumption and fixes power price at $ 0.07 a unit and gas tariff at $ 0.065 per MMBtu, Cheng, also a senior fellow of the Charhar Institute said in his article published by China Economic Net (CEN).

He said the present government of Pakistan has taken special measures to gradually improve the business environment. In order to improve the sustainability of the development of the textile industry and have clear direction and objectives, All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) is formulating a long-term development strategy for the textile industry. It plans to attract $ 7 billion of investment in the next five years, so as to increase the export volume of textiles and clothing by 100% to $ 26 billion.

Pakistan is the fourth largest cotton producer, the fourth largest textile producer and the twelfth largest textile exporter in the world. The textile industry is the most important pillar industry and the largest export industry in Pakistan.

In recent years, Pakistan’s textile industry has been plagued by insecurity, high operating costs, declining competitiveness and sluggish demand in the international market. However, with the steady progress of the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Pakistan’s textile industry and textile exports have a bright future, he added. According to his observation, Pakistan’s textile production and exports have the following main advantages.