Textile and clothing exports shrank 3.1 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis and 6.8pc on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, landing at $1.2 billion in February of the current fiscal year (FY21).
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), a fall in exports of value-added sectors contributed to a decline in overall exports from the sectors. However, exports of basic textiles increased.
The July-February figures showed that growth in textile and clothing exports came from the value-added sector. The value of exports reached $9.99bn in the July-Feb period this year as against $9.37bn over the corresponding months of last year, showing a growth of 6.69pc.
In February, basic textiles exports — cotton yarn, cotton cloth, non-cotton yarn, and raw cotton — increased 13pc MoM. However, the value-added sector and other textiles witnessed a decline of 11pc and 10pc respectively.
“Textile exports declined mainly due to an 11.6pc decline in volumetric sales,” said Topline Research.
The firm said that the exports declined 6.7pc in dollar terms and 7.3pc in rupee terms due to the low number of working days in February.
The brokerage firm added that in the last six years, February textile exports have fallen in range of 1-10%– except for February 2020.
In the non-value-added sectors, the export of art and silk dipped 8.09pc, made-up articles excluding towels, bedwear 2.75pc and other textile products 0.36pc in February this year from a year ago.
The overall exports in January fell by 3.20pc to $2.068bn in February 2021 against $2.136bn over the corresponding month last year.
According to a report by a local media outlet that quoted Commerce Adviser Razak Dawood, the issue of cotton yarn import has already been discussed whereas the textile policy will be finalised when there is a decision on subsidy on gas and electricity for the sector.
