ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile sector has been adversely impacted after its export earnings experienced a significant drop of 19.57 percent to $1.32 billion in May 2023 as compared to $1.64 billion in the same month a year ago, local media reported, citing the country’s statistics bureau.
The country’s dwindling textile sales have witnessed the reduction for the eighth consecutive month, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data released on Friday.
The total textile exports from July through May of the outgoing fiscal year declined cumulatively by 14.7 percent to $15.03 billion from $17.62 billion during the same period in the previous year.
“All major components within the textile group, including cotton cloth, knitwear, bedwear, towels, and readymade garments, witnessed a decrease in exports,” English-language daily The News reported on Saturday.
“However, textile sector exports in May 2023 increased by 7.1 percent compared to the previous month, when the exports amounted to $1.23 billion.”
Pakistani workers dye fabric threads at a factory in Lahore on February 11, 2019. (AFP/File)
In May 2023, exports of cotton cloth decreased by 24.5 percent to $174.7 million, compared to $231.3 million in May 2022, according to the report.
Similarly, knitwear exports in May declined by 22.34 percent to $322.7 million, bedwear fell by 28.4 percent to $201.5 million, readymade garments decreased by 16.8 percent to $267.7 million, towels declined by 5.2 percent to $87.5 million, and cotton yarn exports decreased by 5.8 percent to $100.4 million, compared to the same month of the previous year.
On the other hand, readymade garments exports increased by 8.2 percent, cotton yarn by 57.4 percent, knitwear by 3.4 percent, and towels by 9.9 percent as compared to April 2023. Bedwear exports, however, declined by 7.6 percent during the same period.
Pakistan has been witnessing a widening gap between its exports and imports that has led to a balance of payment crisis in the South Asian country. The central bank reported this week that the total liquid foreign reserves held by it were about $4 billion, while commercial banks in the country possessed $5.4 billion.
Islamabad has desperately been trying to revive a stalled $6.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program, which remains in a limbo despite several rounds of talks with the lender.
To prevent the possibility of a default, friendly nations have pledged external financing to strengthen Pakistan’s dwindling forex reserves. In March, China rolled over a $2 billion loan, while Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pledged $2 billion and $1 billion, respectively, to assist the cash-strapped South Asian country.
On Friday, Pakistan’s central bank announced it had received $1 billion from China amid the government’s efforts to shore up the official foreign exchange reserves.
