Textile exports inch up 2.3% in July-August 2019

Textile group exports saw very little growth of 2.30% in the first two months of the current fiscal year vis-à-vis the figures from the same period last year, largely due to the sluggish economy.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics- (PBS) that different textile products worth US$ 2.215 billion were exported during July-August 2019-20, as against US$ 2.303 billion exported in the same period of fiscal year 2018-19.

However, on a month-to-month basis, the textile exports shrank 5.32% to US$ 1.190 billion in August 2019 from US$ 1.257 billion in the same month last year.

In the first two months, textile products that posted positive growth in exports were raw cotton, up 152.33%, cotton (carded or combed), up 100%, and yarn other than cotton, up 44.96%. Among value-added products knitwear exports weaved their way up to 12.84%, bed-wear increased by 1.22%, while readymade garments were up 7.47%.

Textile Products, which saw negative growth in exports, were cotton yarn, down 7.76%, cotton cloth, down 6.35%, towels, down 0.20%, while other textile materials witnessed a decline of 15.46%.

In the period under review, the country earned US$ 541.484 million by exporting about 20.731 million dozens of knitwear items, compared to US$ 479.877 million in the same period last year. Meanwhile, about 86,828 tonnes of bed-wear worth of US$ 399.994 million were exported during the period as against 72,114 tonnes, valuing US$ 395.172 million in the same period a year ago.

About 10.436 million dozen of readymade garments, valuing US$ 476.484 million, were exported during July-August, compared to 7.752 million dozens of apparels worth US$ 434.981 million in the corresponding period of the last year. On the other hand, the exports of cotton yarn fell from US$ 224.149 million to US$ 206.757 million, cotton cloth from US$ 346.767 million to US$ 324.758 million, while other textile materials' exports went down from US$ 67.636 million to US$ 57.180 million. Textile exports post 2.30% growth reach US$ 2.215 billion in two months.