KARACHI: President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Atif Ikram Sheikh called for a joint Asia-Pacific strategy to strengthen the region’s textile industry, enhance competitiveness and expand its share in global markets.
Atif Ikram, who is also the president of ECO-CCI and Vice President CACCI, remarked while presenting Pakistan’s perspective on regional textile integration at a CACCI webinar on “Textile Industry in Asia Pacific Region: Opportunities, Challenges and Way Forward”.
The webinar, according to a statement issued here, was organized under the Asia Textile and Garment Council in collaboration with the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Highlighting the global and regional outlook, he noted that the global textile market is projected to grow from US$ 2.12 trillion in 2025 to US$ 4.27 trillion by 2035, while the Asia-Pacific region, with around 53% of the global market, is projected to grow from US$ 1.14 trillion to US$ 2.33 trillion during the same period.
He noted that the textile sector employs around 100 million people, rising to approximately 430 million when the wider fashion and apparel sector is included, and contributes around 2% to global GDP. China alone accounts for around 32% of global textile exports, he added.
Speaking about Pakistan’s textile strengths, he highlighted Pakistan’s integrated textile value chain, extending from cotton production to finished garments, saying Pakistan is the 8th-largest textile exporter in Asia, 3rd-largest yarn producer, 5th-largest cotton producer and 4th-largest cotton consumer.
The sector remains a backbone of Pakistan’s economy, accounting for around 60% of national exports, with textile exports of US$17.88 billion and contributing to industrial value addition and employment.
The FPCCI chief proposed that Asia-Pacific countries should complement competition with greater regional cooperation and explore a joint strategy for expanding textile exports to the EU, Africa and US markets.
Future competitiveness will increasingly depend on sustainability, technological innovation, digital traceability, AI-enabled product development, cross-border investment and international branding, he emphasized and also pointed to significant untapped export potential in apparel, home textiles, ready-made garments and industrial textiles, calling for stronger regional value chains and business-to-business partnerships.
