Pakistan's textile exports rise 1.25% to $10.9 billion, food exports fall 35% in 2025-26

Pakistan's textile exports showed a slight growth of 1.25% during the first seven months (July-January) of the 2025-26 financial year, reaching $10.904 billion, compared to $10.777 billion in the same period of 2024-25, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). 

The growth was driven by exports in key sectors such as knitwear, bedwear, ready-made garments, and cotton cloth. However, made-up articles saw a noticeable decline in exports.

Knitwear exports totaled $3.098 billion, up from $3.033 billion last year, while bedwear exports rose to $1.92 billion from $1.868 billion. Ready-made garment exports also saw an increase to $2.58 billion from $2.441 billion. 

However, cotton cloth exports decreased to $992.17 million from $1.129 billion, and made-up articles saw a drop from $660.32 million to $469 million.

On the other hand, Pakistan's food exports faced a significant decline of 35.29%, falling to $2.989 billion from $4.614 billion during the same period in the previous year. 

This drop was largely driven by a 40.51% decrease in rice exports, which amounted to $1.305 billion, down from $2.194 billion in 2024-25. Basmati rice exports shrank by 6.62%, reaching $477.7 million, while IRRI-6 rice exports saw an even sharper decline of 50.9%, totaling $827.8 million, down from $1.62 billion.

Overall, Pakistan's total exports during July-January 2025-26 amounted to $18.190 billion, reflecting a decrease of 7.11% compared to the same period last year, when exports stood at $19.583 billion. 

Imports, however, increased by 9.49%, rising to $40.260 billion, compared to $36.771 billion during the same period in 2024-25.

The rise in imports was driven by increased energy needs, with the petroleum import bill reaching $9.046 billion, reflecting Pakistan’s continued dependence on imported energy. 

Imports of food products also grew by 19.26%, amounting to $5.5 billion, with palm oil imports rising by 24.7% and sugar imports increasing by 8,000 times, from just $0.218 million to $174.6 million.

In addition, metal imports surged by 18.8%, reaching $3.88 billion, while agricultural goods, including fertilisers, pesticides, and chemicals, grew by 8.9%, amounting to $6.27 billion. Other categories, such as rubber products, tyres, and wood, also saw an increase in imports, totalling $695 million.

The country’s balance of payments saw a significant deficit, touching a negative $22.07 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year. This financial imbalance is further exacerbated by trade disruptions with Afghanistan, which has remained closed for the last four months.