Textile exports face temporary plunge

01 Mar '08

2 min read

Pakistani exports have shown a massive product diversification with focus shifting from textiles to other goods. This is amply borne by the export reports that show an increase of 5.95 percent during July-January, 2007-08, in spite of a drop in textile shipments by 3.44 percent.

Sectors which secured decent export revenues include petroleum products, up by 34 percent, leather (tanned) 37.51 percent and leather products 13.99 percent.

Experts believe that the impact of these increases was insignificant, largely because textile, which accounts for 65 percent of total shipment, registered a decline. So much so, that all categories of yarn and fabrics showed a negative growth. Even the value added sector like knitwear, towels and bed wear reflected a decline of 11.21, 6.72 and 6.21 percent, respectively.

The only exception in this regard was the readymade garment sector, which recorded a rise of 7.20 percent.

Experts believe that pressure on the textile sector caused by lack of sufficient foreign orders was the main reason behind the declining trend.

The textile sector's worst performance was in December last year when the export of its many categories dipped over 20 percent.

However, knitwear exports went up by 10.08 percent in January 2008, while readymade garments rose by over 39 percent. Buyers placed huge orders for knitted shirts and denim clothing, as rates of these products were higher in India.

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