Benazir Bhutto's assassination in December left the country in the state of dismay, affecting all the sectors quite badly. Even the graph of exports is going downwards leaving the industry and Government in a state of worry. The major foreign currency earners performed miserably in the first half of current financial year.
Textile and garment sectors are the major contributors in the foreign earning as they have nearly 80 percent holding in the market. Export during the first six months of this financial year totaled US $8.716 billion against $9.219 billion target.
Available statistics show that the country could fetch $5.256 billion in the period from July to December from the exports of textile and garments, against set target of $5.895 billion for the period.
However, for financial year 2007- 08, textile and garments industry aims to hit $19.2 billion from exports, which according to industry insiders seems difficult to achieve.
Further, a market survey shows that Pakistani products are losing their popularity in the international market. The reason being that the cost of production has seen a steep rise compared to last year. To add to the woes, growing energy deficit is also negatively affecting the smooth functioning of the industry.