Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed that textile exports amounted to $938mn in May last year and $1.148bn in April. Analysts attributed a nominal sequential surge in exports to the part release of exporters’ stuck refunds. The last government disbursed refunds worth Rs31.5bn in the last week of May.
PBS data showed that textile exports rose 9.82% to $12.336bn in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year of 2017/18. Textile exports amounted to $11.23bn in the same period a year earlier.
In May, total exports stood at $2.144bn, up staggering 32.4% year-on-year, but they were marginally up 0.52% month-on-month. The country’s total exports rose 15.3% to $21.345bn in the July-May period.
Muffasar Malik, president of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) said exports had sharply descended to several destinations around the world in the past because of rising cost of doing business.
“It must be kept in mind that rising dollar would lead to costlier imports and the exporters will also bear the brunt due to rise in cost of imported raw materials,” Malik said.
“Any further devaluation would increase their cost and make Pakistani exporters less competitive, plunging the economy into further deep crisis.”
Rupee lost around 14% since December last year as the government let the rupee depreciate against the US dollar.
The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said textile sector’s share in the country’s total exports remained stagnant at 60% for long.
“The area of concern is that Pakistan’s competitors have set targets for textile exports, while Pakistan remains far behind them,” FPCCI said in a report. “Pakistan’s total exports declined to $20bn from $25bn.”
An exporter said the country is only getting spillover orders and that too would stop coming once the competitors increase their capacity. “The government should come with a concrete and sustainable policy to facilitate exporters,” the exporter added.
In May, cotton yarn exports increased 41.3% year-on-year to $130.13mn; knitwear exports rose 39.2% to $258.86mn; bed wear exports surged 27.9% to $199.97mn; readymade garments exports climbed 23.99% to $223.37mn while cotton cloth fetched $199.6mn in May, up 22.08% over the same month a year earlier.
PBS data showed that imports increased 14.2% to $55.232bn during the first 11 months. In May, total imports amounted to $5.814bn, up 14.8% year-on-year and 13.8% month-on-month.