LAHORE: The country’s textile sector exports were dropped by 29 per cent to $1.24 billion in April 2023 as compared to $1.74bn recorded in the corresponding month of the previous fiscal year.
Data released by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) shows that the country’s textile exports in the first 10 months of FY23 plunged by 14pc to $13.71bn from $15.97 billion a year earlier.
The decline in textile exports has raised concerns for the South Asian economy, which is already dealing with low foreign exchange reserves.
Earlier, the premier textile body had warned that the country’s textile exports could drop by $3bn this year as compared to last year, urging authorities to take immediate and urgent intervention.
Aptma Patron in Chief Gohar Ejaz, in a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, stated that the decline in textile exports has been progressively accelerating. “Given the trajectory of decline, Pakistan is likely to fall short by $3 billion in textile exports from the exports achieved last year of $19.4 billion without taking into account any increase from newly installed capacity,” he warned.
