Exports of textile products declined by 7.58 percent during July-March period of current fiscal year to $7.193 billion as compared to $7.7883 billion of the same period of last year, according to Federal Bureau of Statistics. Figures released here on Tuesday showed a staggering decline of over 22 percent in export of textile products in March over the same month of last year as a result of negative growth in all sub-sectors.
As a result, exports declined to $723.333 million in March 2009 as compared to $929.953 million in March 2008. The negative growth in all the sub sectors of textile underlined the importance of evolving a strategy to address the problem impeding it. The industry views the high cost of doing business due to rising mark-up and power outage as core reasons for the sharp decline in export growth of textile products.
The sector has also been asking the government to take up the issue of giving market access to Pakistani goods in European and US markets as a small relief to what Pakistan has been suffering economically as frontline state in global war on terrorism. The export growth was witnessed negative by all the other sub sectors in textile except raw cotton, cotton cloth and towel. The rest of nine sub-sectors of textile group witnessed negative growth during July-March 2008-09. The exports of cotton yarn with a negative growth of 15.51 percent dipped to $823.036 million in July-March of current fiscal year as compared to $974.202 million of the same period of last year.
Exports of cotton carded or combed yarn other than cotton and knitwear witnessed a negative growth of 5.62, 53.39 and 4.80 percent respectively during the period under review. With this decline their exports dipped to $11.219 million, $17.884 million and $1.317 billion respectively from $11.887 million, $12.207 million and $1.384 billion over the same period of last year.
The export of bed wear declined to $1.259 billion in the current fiscal year from $1.425 billion from last year. Export of tents, canvas and tarpaulin went down by 19.29 percent; readymade garments by 13.10 percent; and art silk and synthetic by 32.50 percent. Other textile exports also went down by 16.37 percent.
Monthly analysis of the data showed that export of raw cotton dipped by 85.95 percent to $2,181 million in March from $15.523 million over the same month of last year. The export of cotton yarn came down to $87. 679 million from $109.843 million, cotton cloth to $137.371 million from $189.264 million, cotton carded or combed to $1.832 million from $2.642 million over the same period of last year.
The exports of yarn other than cotton declined by 30.66 percent, knitwear by 22.12 percent, bed wear by 22.52 percent and towels by 14.21 percent. The export of tents, canvas and tarpaulin dipped by 14.21 percent, ready made garments by 5.75 percent, art silk and synthetic by 10.70 percent and made up articles by 16.76 percent.
Other exports of textile materials dipped by 18.73 percent in the month of March as compared to same month of last year. However, export of textile witnessed an increase of 11.90 percent in March as compared to February of the ongoing fiscal year. The exports jumped to $723.33 million in March from $652.813 million in February.