20 February 2023, Mumbai
Pakistan’s textile exports declined by 12 per cent in January 2023.
The country’s textile exports fell by eight per cent during the first seven months of the current financial year. Exports started declining in October 2022 after registering single digit growth during the first three months of the current financial year. Textile exports grew by one per cent, eight per cent and nine per cent respectively in July 2022, August 2022 and September 2022. However, exports declined by 15 per cent, 18 per cent, 15 per cent and 12 per cent in October 2022, November 2022, December 2022 and January 2023 respectively. A raw material shortage, rupee depreciation against the dollar and an energy crisis have severely affected exports of textile goods from Pakistan to other countries during the past few months. Pakistan’s cotton production has dropped by 50 per cent. Another serious problem is energy supply. Textile exports could decline further in the coming months in the absence of reliable and affordable energy supply. As it is the country’s textile industry is operating at less than 50 per cent of capacity and many people associated with the sector have already lost their jobs. The textile export industry is under pressure due to the high cost of doing business and it is also at a comparative disadvantage with respect to the cost of production in the sector.
