ISLAMABAD: Last month saw a dip in the nation’s exports of apparel and textiles, bucking the pattern of double-digit growth seen over the preceding three months and suggesting a drop in orders from foreign customers.
According to data provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday, the sector’s exports showed a pitiful growth of 3.29 per cent to $1.299 billion in March over $1.257 billion registered in the same month last year.
Month over month, the sector’s exports decreased by 7.67 percent.
However, exports of apparel and textiles fell 0.25 percent to $12.444 billion in 9MFY24 from $12.476 billion in the same period the previous year.
A shortage of liquidity and growing manufacturing costs brought on by increased energy prices were blamed for the slowdown in growth. The government has already received a warning from the textile industry that additional deterioration is anticipated if their complaints, including unrefunded claims, are not resolved promptly.
According to PBS data, knitwear expanded 8.12 percent in value and 19.58 percent in quantity in March, while exports of ready-made clothing increased 3.92 percent in value and 19.39 percent in quantity. There was a 9.36 percent and 18.15 percent spike in bed wear, respectively.
Exports of towels increased by 18.10 percent in value and 22.39 percent in quantity, while exports of cotton fabric increased by 3.18 percent and 29.63 percent, respectively.
Compared to the same month last year, yarn exports decreased by more than 36.09 percent in March. In March, exports of manufactured goods—aside from towels—rose by 17.49 percent, while those of tents, canvas, and tarpaulin decreased by 36.09 percent.
The fact that imports of textile machinery fell by 49% in March suggests that plans for growth or modernization were not given top attention.
During the month, there was a rise in the import of synthetic fiber by 49.41 percent, synthetic and artificial silk yarn by 36.07 percent, and other textile articles by 98.06 percent.
Raw cotton imports decreased by 79.56 percent. Nonetheless, there was a surge of 29.49 percent in the import of used clothing.
Compared to the same time in the previous year, total exports rose by 9.01 percent to $22.93 billion in the first nine months of FY24.
importation of oil
According to PBS data, oil imports decreased by 7.63 percent in the first nine months of FY24, from $13.08 billion to $12.08 billion.
Petroleum product imports decreased by 13.38 percent in quantity and 21.02 percent in value between July and March, according to PBS. Crude oil imports rose by 3.26 percent in value but by 11.65 percent in quantity.
Mobile phone imports
Imports of mobile phones increased by 181.26% to $1.301 billion in 9MFY24 from $462.70 million during the same time previous year. In the first nine months of FY24, this amounts to the single biggest share of the total value of machinery imports.
In 9MFY24, other mobile apparatus witnessed a 14.05 percent increase, from $282.271 million to $321.93 million.
