PTEA appreciates 33% drop in Pakistan's trade deficit

02 Jan '20

2 min read

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Appreciating a 33 per cent drop in the country’s trade deficit in the July-November period to $9.496 billion from $14.47 billion in the same period in the last fiscal, the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) recently urged for measures to step up industrialisation and boost exports as growth in exports has remained tepid during the period.

In a recent statement, PTEA chairman Sohail Pasha said exports fell by 0.67 per cent in November over the preceding month while average rise in exports in the first five months of the current fiscal is less than 5 per cent, indicating that achieving the export target will again be toughest this year.

For the first time in last 15 years, imports are decreasing but low export volumes are still the issue for the country’s economic growth. Lack of diversification of export destinations and products and high cost of doing business are among the key factors behind low exports, Pakistani media reports quoted Pasha as saying.

Despite extreme crisis, the textile industry remained the most export-oriented sector of the economy in the last decade with its 60 per cent share in export revenues, he said, adding that stagnating textiles exports have been a consistent source of concern for the economy.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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