Textile, food exports surge by 28.67 percent, 18.28 percent respectively

Exports of textile and food groups have witnessed considerable growth during the first 8 months of the current year as these surged by 28.67 percent and 18.28 percent respectively. The textile exports during July-February (2010-11) were recorded at US$8.637 billion against the exports of US$6.708 billion during the same period of last year, Federal Bureau of Statistics reported.
On the other hand, the food exports during the period under review stood at US$2.465 billion against the exports of US$2.084 billion during last year. The products that contributed to the positive growth in overall textile sector included raw cotton, cotton yarn and cotton cloth, exports of which increased by 12.97 percent, 45.30 percent and 33 percent respectively.
Similarly the exports of cotton (carded or combed) increased by 18.93 percent, yarn (other that cotton yarn) by 15.36 percent, knit wear by 26.63 percent, bedwear by 16.68 percent, towels by 6.40 percent, readymade garments by 33,67 percent, art, silk and synthetic textile by 64.17 percent, made up articles by 18.63 percent and the exports of other textile materials increased by 39.58 percent during the period under review.
The only export product that witnessed negative growth in exports during the period was tents, canvas and tarpulin, exports of which declined by 38.26 percent. Among the food group, the exports of fish and fish preparations increased by 27.76 percent, fruits by 1.21 percent, vegetables by 49.42 percent, leguminous vegetables (pulses) by 470 percent, tobacco by 178.6 percent, wheat by 35,775 percent, spices by 14.73 percent, meat and meat preparations by 51.49 percent while the exports of all other food items increased by 30.79 percent.
The food items that witnessed negative growth in exports included rice and oil, seeds, nuts and kernels, exports of which declined by 0.07 percent and 34.44 percent respectively. Meanwhile, the textile exports witnessed increase of 50.82 percent and 0.70 percent in February 2011 as compared to the exports of February 2010 and January 2011, respectively. The food group exports increased in February 2011 by 52.28 percent as compared to exports of February 2010, however decreased by 7.73 percent when compared to the exports of January 2011, FBS reported.