Textile exports up 8pc in 4 months

KARACHI: Textile exports rose eight percent to $4.39 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal 2017/18 as the industry’s value-added sector continued to post recovery in export earnings during the period, official data revealed on Monday.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data showed that textile exports amounted to $4.075 billion in the July-October period of the past fiscal year.

Knitwear exports stood at $873.023 million during the July-October period of FY2018, depicting a 10.62 percent increase as compared to the corresponding period a year ago.

Export of bedwear increased 5.44 percent to $755.419 million in the period under review. Readymade garments exports surged 14.8 percent to $803.526 million. Export of made-up articles rose 8.81 percent to $222.183 million, while towel exports remained almost flat at $248.224 million in July-October.

Other merchandises that witnessed decent double digital growth in exports earnings during the period under review included raw cotton (up 46.69pc), synthetic textile (soaring 60.61pc) and textile materials (rising 19.48pc). A gradual disbursal of tax refunds, which creates liquidity constraints for businesses, and trade enhancement initiatives are playing an instrumental role in arresting decline in textile exports that fetch more than 60 percent of the country’s total exports of $20 billion. But, the quantum is still much below the potential and compared with regional competitors. It has to be significantly increased to help the government achieve its ambitious $35 billion annual exports target.

Industrialists pin hope on new power plants based on liquefied natural gas to generate comparatively inexpensive electricity to make the country’s exports competitive in the international market. In October, textile exports increased 7.12 percent year-on-year (YoY) and rose 5.09 percent month-on-month (MoM) $1.132 billion.

Knitwear exports surged 14.42 percent YoY and rose 8.12 percent MoM. Export of bedwear inched up 0.28 percent YoY and rose 2.96 percent MoM. Readymade garments exports climbed 11.51 percent YoY and jumped 3.35 percent MoM. Export of made-up articles rose 10.6 percent YoY and increased 7.87 percent MoM. Though towels exports were down 2.85 percent YoY, they were up 6.96 percent MoM.

PBS data further revealed that food exports also rose 9.85 percent to $1.072 billion in the July-October period. Exports of rice earned the government $457.663 million in the period under review, showing a rise of 16.87 percent over the corresponding period a year earlier.

Sugar exports doubled to $60.922 million during the period under review, while exports of wheat also doubled to $254,000 due to bumper crops. Fruits exports, however, dropped 20.24 percent to $96.713 million in the July-October period. Manufacturing sector comprising chemical products, leather garments, surgical instruments, and sports goods fetched $1.127 billion in export earnings in the July-October period. Total exports, in the period under review, stood at $7.055 billion, up 9.98 percent over the corresponding period a year ago.

Meanwhile, total imports climbed 22.38 percent to $19.162 billion during the first four months of the current fiscal. Oil was the key imports in terms of dollars outflows. Imports of petroleum products, crude and liquefied natural gas surged 39.46 percent to $4.431 billion as international oil prices are rebounding after two years of beating.

Machinery imports edged down 1.38 percent to $3.671 billion in July-October FY2018. Imports of power generation machinery seemed to be tapering down after a constant surge in the past required for energy projects. Its imports were noticeably down 24.58 percent in the period under review. Textile machinery imports recorded a 32.54 percent increase. Food import bill also soared 20.21 percent to $2.198 billion during the period under review.