LAHORE: After being reduced to nine months low in November 2013 to $ 1 billion, textile exports have shown an impressive recovery of up to 25 per cent in December 2013 to stand at $ over 1.2 billion.
According to sources major improvement during December 2013 was witnessed in yarn export up to 35 per cent while other major heads included export of cotton cloth growing by 28 per cent; knitwear by 24 per cent; readymade clothes by 23 per cent; and bed wear exports by 18 per cent as compared to November 2013.
Besides seasonal factor, experts attributed higher export on sequential basis to normalization of trade activities post 11 days strike of goods transporters in November 2013.
Official statistics indicate a rise in textile exports of 25 per cent to over $ 1.2 billion in December 2013, which are also up 20 per cent as compared to December 2012.
On a cumulative basis, textile exports stood at $ 6.9 billion during first half of FY 2013-14 against $ 6.4 billion in the same period last year, representing a growth of 8.4 per cent.
Amongst the leading contributors towards export, major increase is witnessed in bed wear exports which accounts for 15 per cent of overall textile exports of the country. The segment’s exports during first half rose by a significant 22 per cent benefiting from higher volumetric sales.
Other segments witnessing improvement during the first half of FY 2013-14 are: readymade garments up by 8 per cent; cotton cloth up by 6 per cent; and knitwear up by 5 per cent. However, yarn exports have witnessed a decline of 3 per cent.
The experts are of view that other factors adding boost to the sector are the spike in exports likely due to the recent grant of GSP plus status by the EU in December 2013. Sustainability of recent increase in international cotton prices may also culminate into inventory gains for the sector, the experts concluded.
