Pakistan’s textile exports plummet 21pc in March YoY

Pakistan’s textile sector exports plunged by 21 per cent to $1.29 billion in March 2023 as compared to $1.63bn recorded in the corresponding month of 2022.

Provisional data released by the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Tuesday showed that the country’s textile exports in the first nine months of FY23 fell by 12pc to $12.5bn, coming down from $14.23bn a year earlier.

Last week, the Association had warned that the country’s textile exports could fall by $3bn this year as compared to last year, urging authorities to take immediate and urgent intervention.

“The decline in textile exports has been progressively accelerating,” APTMA Patron-in-Chief Gohar Ejaz had said in a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

“The progressive decline in exports is a consequence of the moratorium on import of raw materials and essential spare parts, lack of adequate supply of energy at competitive prices and failure of the sales tax refund system, all have contributed significantly to the closure of over 50 per cent of industry.”

Ejaz warned that given the trajectory of decline, Pakistan is likely to fall short by $3 billion in textile exports from the exports achieved last year of $19.4bn without taking into account any increase from newly installed capacity.

Pakistan’s exports during July-March (2022-23) were recorded at $21.04bn against the exports of $23.35bn in July-March of 2021-22, showing a decline of nearly 10pc. 

Article source: https://www.nation.com.pk/04-Apr-2023/pakistan-s-textile-exports-plummet-21pc-in-march-yoy