Pakistan’s textile producers expect a $500 million cut in monthly exports from July, a top industry official said on Saturday, as energy shortages have reduced production capacity by 30 percent.
The textile sector is as backbone of Pakistan’s economy with a 60 percent share in the country’s total exports. Its contribution to gross domestic product is 8.5 percent and it provides employment to around 15 million people.
Pakistan’s textile exports have recorded an increase of 28 percent to $17.6 billion in the first 11 months of this fiscal year, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday, but energy and fuel shortages are hampering efforts to further boost them.
“Our textile production has already started shrinking and this would lead to around $500 million reduction in the country’s exports from July,” Shahid Sattar, secretary-general All Pakistan Textile Mills Association, told Arab News.
