Pakistan’s share in global textile & clothing exports

Pakistan’s meager share of less than 0.2% in global trade is the result of its dependence on textile and clothing exports which have only a 4.5% share in total world exports, say economic experts.

According to the World Trade Statistics 2007 released by the World Trade Organization, in textile and clothing the export of clothing amounted to $311 billion which was 2.6% of the total global merchandise exports in 2006. The export of textile, other than clothing, was $219 billion, which was 1.9% of the total global merchandise exports.

Experts point out that even in textile and clothing the share of Pakistan’s exports is very low. With total textile exports of $7.41 billion, Pakistan’s share in global textile trade (excluding clothing) stands at 3.4%. It was 0.9% in 2000 and has increased almost four times in six years.

Among major buyers of Pakistan’s textiles in 2006 were US which bought products worth $1.9 billion, Canada $104 million, the European Union $1.73 billion and Japan $71 million. With total clothing exports of $3.9 billion, Pakistan’s share in global clothing trade comes to 1.3% compared to 2.8% share enjoyed by Bangladesh and 3.3% by India with exports of $7.8 billion and $10.2 billion respectively.

A look at growth achieved by other nations gives an insight into comparatively poor performance of Pakistan. In 1980, Bangladesh’s share in global clothing trade was zero when Pakistan had a 0.3% share. By 1990, Pakistan’s share increased to 0.9% while Bangladesh’s share reached 0.6%.

In 2000, Bangladesh grabbed a 2.1% share in global clothing trade while Pakistan’s share inched up to only 1.1%. In 2006, Pakistan exported apparel worth $81 million to Canada and $1.63 billion to the US compared to exports of $434 million worth of apparel by Bangladesh to Canada and $3.12 billion to the US.

Pakistan’s clothing exports to the EU amounted to $1.4 billion compared to exports of $5.7 billion by Bangladesh and $5.1 billion by India. With $120 billion of exports and $174 billion of imports, India is the 28th largest exporter and the 17th largest importer in the world, while Pakistan is not among top 50 exporting nations though it is the 50th largest global importer.