In the just completed fiscal year (2008-09), textile and apparel exports from Pakistan fell by 9.59 percent to $9.61 billion. The comparable export sales figures of the previous fiscal year (2007-08) are $10.63 billion.
Experts from the sector are attributing the fall in value mainly to the drop in unit prices, which has come about due to the inability of the exporters to keep their commitments to their overseas buyers.
Another reason put forth by these experts is that the in the previous fiscal, Pakistan was a recipient of spillover orders from buyer countries. Spillover orders to other countries are given as a contingency measure to meet increased demand.
In the period under preview, unit prices of knitwear fell 8.27 percent. That of raw cotton dipped 11.79 percent, cotton yarn was down by 9.96 percent, bedwear dipped by 6.95 percent and towels 5.85 percent during the year.
The only saving grace was that the unit price of cotton fabrics was up 3.74 percent and that of readymade garments also went up by 10.87 percent during the just completed fiscal, when corresponded with unit prices of 2007-08.