ISLAMABAD: The export of textile commodities increased 10.79pc year-on-year to $1,323.324 million during the month of January 2021, as against $1,194.463 million in the same month of last year.
On a month-on-month basis, however, exports from the country decreased 5.54pc in January 2021 when compared with $1,400.269 million in December 2020, data issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics revealed.
Overall, the export of textile commodities increased 8.23pc during the first seven months (July-Jan) of the current fiscal year (FY21) as compared to the corresponding period of last year. Textile exports were recorded at $8,765.739 million in 7MFY21 against the exports of $8,099.095 million in 7MFY20.
Among top performing commodities, knitwear exports increased 18.74pc (from $1,831.758 million last year to $2,175.021 million); yarn exports (other than cotton yarn) inched up 4.63pc (from $16.286 million to $17.040 million); bed wear exports rose 16.38pc (from $1392.020 to $1,613.509), while towel exports increased 19.91pc (from $444.685 million to $533.207 million).
Similarly, the export of tents, canvas and trapline grew 48.95pc (from $49.611 million to $73.897 million); readymade garments 5.48pc (from $1,680.897 million to $1,773.054 million); art, silk and synthetic textile 0.45pc (from $199.790 million to $200.687 million); while export of made up articles (excluding towels and bed wear) increased 18.01pc (from $378.680 million to $446.878 million).
On the other hand, commodities that witnessed a negative export trend included raw cotton, exports of which declined 96.27pc (from $15.885 million to $0.593 million).Likewise, cotton yarn exports decreased 23.97pc (from $639.770 to $486.426), whereas cotton cloth exports dropped 8.63pc (from $1,188.990 million to $1,086.333).
It is pertinent to mention that the country’s merchandize exports increased 5.53pc during the first seven months of FY21 as compared to the corresponding period of last year.
The country’s exports were recorded at $14.242 billion during 7MFY21 against the exports of $13.496 billion during 7MFY20. However, imports during the period under review also increased by 6.92pc, from $27.316 billion to $29.205 billion.
Based on the figures, the country’s trade deficit increased 8.27pc to $14.963 billion during the period under review as against the deficit of $13.820 billion last year.
