Textile exports surge 15.85% in January

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile exports jumped 15.85 percent year-over-year in January 2025, reaching $1.686 billion from $1.477 billion a year earlier, continuing a double-digit growth trend since August 2024, except in December.

In the first seven months (July-January 2024-25), total textile exports rose 10.6 percent to $10.77 billion, up from $9.74 billion in the same period last year.

The growth was driven by finished goods, while the raw material exports declined, signaling a shift toward the value-added products.

Knitwear led with a 29.3pc surge to $468.3 million, followed by readymade garments, up 19.1pc to $397 million. Bedwear exports grew 14.5pc to $288.7 million, cotton cloth 3.35pc to $165 million, and towels 6.1pc to $101.97 million.

In contrast, the cotton yarn exports fell 19.9pc to $65 million, and raw cotton exports dropped to zero, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

For fiscal 2023-24, the total textile exports stood at $16.65 billion, marking a modest 0.9pc increase. With the current pace, the sector could cross $18 billion mark.

Meanwhile, food exports declined 16.9pc to $653.6 million in January, mainly due to a 33.2pc drop in rice exports to $319 million following India’s market reopening.

Basmati rice exports fell 13pc to $77.8 million, while the other rice varieties dropped 37.8pc to $241 million.

Fruit exports inched up 4.4pc to $41.4 million, but vegetable exports plunged 53.2pc to $34.1 million.

Fish exports remained steady at $30.3 million, meat declined 2.7pc to $45.6 million, while sugar exports reached $64.3 million, up from zero last year.

Sports goods exports fell 2.13pc to $31.35 million, with footballs down 10.6pc to $17.4 million. Surgical goods and medical instruments rose 6.56pc to $40.15 million, cement exports soared 40pc to $20.6 million, and chemical and pharmaceutical exports jumped 38.5pc to $136 million. Pharmaceutical exports saw the biggest gain, surging 159.6pc to $55 million.

While on the import side, petroleum group imports rose 3.45pc year-over-year in January 2025, reaching $1.37 billion from $1.33 billion a year earlier.

The crude oil imports surged 18.8pc to $435.6 million, petroleum products 21.1pc to $517.6 million, and LPG 21.2pc to $105.9 million. However, the LNG imports declined 29.6pc to $313.3 million.

The machinery group’s total imports in January jumped 18.4pc to $887.7 million. Of this, the textile machinery imports soared 100.7pc to $22.2 million, power generation machinery 67.8pc to $59.3 million, and agriculture machinery 29.2pc to $15.5 million.

The construction and mining machinery imports climbed 58pc to $14 million, while electrical machinery rose 10.3pc to $309 million. In contrast, telecom machinery imports fell 16.6pc to $194 million, with mobile phone imports down 30.66pc to $135.1 million.

The transport sector imports surged 58pc to $214 million. Road motor vehicle imports, including built units and CKD/SKD, totaled $200.7 million, up 70pc year-over-year. Completely Built Units (CBU) imports for buses, trucks, and heavy vehicles rose 5.6pc to $41.7 million, while motor car imports declined 15.9pc to $27 million.

CKD/SKD imports for heavy vehicles surged 159.4pc to $128.2 million. Of this, buses, trucks and other heavy vehicles imports increased 360.3pc to $43.34 million, and motor cars soared 118.7pc to $79 million. Motorcycle imports rose 47.6pc to $5.4 million, and parts and accessories imports increased 22.2pc to $27.7 million.