Pak textile exports fall in April

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile exports fell 1.35 percent year-on-year to $1.22 billion in April 2025, with a sharper month-on-month decline of 14.64 percent from $1.43 billion in March 2025, signaling a cooling in overseas demand after several months of strong performance.

Cumulative textile exports for the 10 months through April (FY2024/25) rose 8.4pc to $14.83 billion, compared with $13.68 billion in the same period a year earlier, according to the data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.The export performance across key textile categories was mixed. Knitwear shipments rose 2pc from a year earlier to $332.9 million, readymade garments climbed 3.9pc to $302.7 million, and towel exports increased 4.8pc to $84.6 million.

In contrast, bedwear exports declined 3.4pc to $195.6 million, cotton cloth shipments dropped 6.4pc to $126.4 million, while cotton yarn exports plunged 30.5pc to $37.6 million. From August 2024 to January 2025, exports depicted a double-digit growth; in February it dropped to only 0.44pc. And in March, it grew by 10 percent, but it fell to negative 1.35 percent in April.

In FY24, textiles of $16.65 billion were sold abroad, depicting a growth of only 0.93pc over the FY23.

Food exports slumped 27.4pc to $414.4 million in Aprilt.

Basmati rice exports declined 40.5pc to $45.7 million, while other rice varieties dropped 41.5pc to $160.6 million.

Vegetable exports rose up 24.2pc to $40.6 million, fish and seafood products posted a 10.1pc gain to $48 million and tobacco exports soared 794pc to $7.1 million. However, meat and meat preparations declined 420.2pc to $35 million and fruits slid 26.8pc to $6.1 million.

Exports of sports goods dropped 22.9pc to $29.1 million, with footballs down 33.3pc to $17.5 million. Surgical instruments declined 0.36pc to $35 million, cement exports downed 5.7pc to $23.6 million, while pharmaceutical product exports rose 22.8pc to $36.5 million.

On the import side, the petroleum group recorded 19.24pc annual decline to $1.35 billion in April 2025. Only LPG imports showed 7.3pc increase to $83.8 million.

Machinery imports increased sizably by 19.34pc to $1.08 billion. Significant gains were noted in textile machinery (up 89.4pc), power generation equipment (84.6pc), and construction/mining machinery (27.3pc). Transport imports soared 31.4pc year-on-year to $276.6 million. Under the completely built units (CBUs) category, busses, trucks and heavy vehicles imports increased 95.5pc to $10.56 million and motor vehicles by 16.5pc to $27.9 million.