According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, textile and clothing exports from the country increased by 6.2% to US $ 1.064 billion in March – mainly driven by value-added products such as garments. The increase in export proceeds was also evident in rupee terms. The data for the month shows that exports of value-added products increased both in terms of value and quantity.
Product-wise details show that exports of readymade garments (RMG) soared 19.5%, whereas those of knitwear grew by 5.4% in March. Exports of bedwear rose by 5.4% whereas those of towels surged by 15.8% during the month. In primary commodities, exports of cotton yarn witnessed a year-on-year increase of 5%, while those of cotton cloth and yarn dropped 5.5% and 26.9%, respectively. Exports of made-up articles, excluding towels, increased by 16%, and those of tents, canvas and tarpaulin grew by 71.8%. Proceeds from art, silk and synthetic textile increased by 2.7%, whereas those from raw cotton dropped 2.9%.
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In nine months through March, the value of exported textile and clothing products fell 0.89% year-on-year to US $ 9.278 billion. Overall export proceeds in July-March were down 3% to US $ 15.118 billion.
Last year, the Government of Pakistan announced a textile policy involving 4% rebate on the exports of RMG on a 10% incremental increase over the preceding year, 2% on home textiles and 1% on fabric. However, no support was announced on raw material or yarn exports. Under this policy, the Government paid Rs. 2.5 billion to exporters in the preceding fiscal year. This shows the policy worked to some extent and promoted exports of value-added textile products.
From January 15 onwards, the government has not only increased the rebate to 7% for RMG, but has also allowed cash support of 4% on yarn and grey cloth under a Rs. 180 billion package announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
