Pakistan’s textile sector exports registered a massive decline of 12.4%, clocking in at $1.36 billion in January 2023 in comparison to $1.55 billion recorded in the same month of the previous year, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) said on Thursday.
The report said that the country’s textile exports fell by 8% to $10.08 billion in the first seven months of FY23 from the $10.93 billion achieved in 7MFY22.
Textile exports in the first 7 months of FY23 decreased by 8% compared to corresponding year FY22. Whereas in the month of January, textile exports have decreased by 12% compared to corresponding year FY22.#TextileExportForSustainableEconomy pic.twitter.com/qOsqHofLk6
— All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (@APTMAofficial) February 2, 2023
The South Asian economy, which is already dealing with declining foreign exchange reserves, is concerned about the drop in textile exports. Just 3.7 billion dollars are left in reserves at the central bank, barely enough to cover imports for three weeks.
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Earlier, in an opinion piece for Business Recorder, Asif Inam, Chairman APTMA said the textile sector, the single largest manufacturing sector of Pakistan, is confronted with numerous challenges.
“Worsening international economic situation primarily caused by the Ukraine crisis combined with floods in Pakistan has negatively impacted the already inefficient supply chains of the country. Flooding in dozens of districts of Pakistan has destroyed a wide swath of agricultural land,” he wrote.
“While the industry requires 14 million bales, the country could only produce 5 million bales of cotton domestically.
APTMA previously warned that the nation’s textile exports could slip below $1 billion per month starting in 2023 in a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The letter also highlighted a number of problems affecting the sector, which is now running at less than 50% capacity utilization.
