According to data provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, textile and clothing exports decreased 14.83% in January to $1.32 billion from $1.55 billion in the same month the previous year.
For the seventh month in a row, the total export proceeds decreased. The decline indicates that the government will have trouble meeting its export goal for this fiscal year, which will put an additional burden on the nation’s foreign exchange reserves.
Irrespective enormous depreciation of the rupee, the decline in textile and clothing exports has accelerated over the previous five months due to a number of issues, including high energy costs, delayed refunds, and a drop in demand worldwide.
Exporters think that changing exchange rates were a major factor in the decline of exports. The government’s decision to end duty drawbacks on local taxes and levies has also affected the export sector’s ability to maintain liquidity.
The government has announced that as part of the agreement with the IMF, energy subsidies for the export sector will end in March. The increase in containers at ports is another factor in the drop in exports.
The trade ministry did not officially release a statement to provide an explanation for the decrease in export revenues. After taking over the ministry, Naveed Qamar, the minister of commerce, has frequently traveled abroad.
According to PBS data, ready-to-wear exports experienced a negative growth of 11.47 percent in value but a positive growth of 32.26 percent in quantity in January. Knitwear saw a decrease of 13.10 percent in value and 13.54 percent in quantity, and bedwear experienced a negative growth of 20.05 percent in value and 15.83 percent in quantity.
Yet, towel exports only slightly grew by 3.82 percent in volume and 0.08 percent in value. The value and volume of cotton clothing declined by 26.70 and 30.86 percent, respectively. Among Exports of cotton yarn fell by 12.34% while those of other types of yarn fell by 40.08% as primary commodities.
