LAHORE: Overall textile exports rose by 7.5% in the current fiscal year up to now as compared to the same period in previous fiscal year as textile sector exports stand at $4.7b this fiscal year until now.
According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data on exports, textile exports contribute 60 per cent of the country’s annual exports. Exports counted in at $1.1b in the month of October which is 12% down as compared to the last month.
Experts said that the decline primarily came due to variance in volumes. Among the leading exports, cotton yarn, cotton clothes, knitwear/bed wear and readymade garments witnessed relatively lacklustre volumetric sales, contributing 71 per cent to the country’s total textile exports in the month of October’ 13.
Among the leading textile products exported, a year on year (YoY) increase was witnessed in cotton clothes at 9% ($235m), bed wear at 7% ($163m) and knitwear at 6% ($189m). On the other hand, readymade garments and cotton yarn showed negative YoY growth at 7% and 0.4% respectively, PBS’ recently released export data said.
“Despite the subdued growth, we continue to view the sector positively on the back of its increased competitiveness due to rupee weakness and the possible grant of GSP plus status” Experts said. They also added “Despite a slowdown in export volume during the ongoing month, we continue to hold a favourable outlook towards the sector”.
“We believe the possible grant of the GSP plus status by the EU (EU parliamentary meeting has reportedly been scheduled for Dec’13) is likely to bode well for the textile sector”, said experts. Furthermore, weakness in the rupee also bears positive implications for the sector’s profitability, they said.
