In October, Pakistan’s textile sector experienced growth in exports,totaling $1.43 billion, marking a 5% increase compared to the same month inthe previous year, as per provisional data released by the All PakistanTextile Mills Association (APTMA) on Thursday. This marks the first monthin 2023 when textile exports have seen a year-on-year increase. Datareveals that the country’s textile exports in the first ten months of thecalendar year 2023 declined by 16% to $13.34 billion, down from $15.88billion during the same period in 2022. In the ongoing fiscal year 2023-24(July-October), textile exports declined by 7%, amounting to $5.55 billionin 4MFY24, compared to $5.94 billion in 4MFY23. Additionally, on a monthlybasis, textile exports increased by over 5% compared to the $1.36 billionrecorded in September. During a recent meeting with government authorities,APTMA requested competitive electricity tariffs, on par with regionalcountries, and urged for the elimination of the Rs10.85 per unitcross-subsidy extended to non-productive sectors. The government wasinformed about the challenges faced by the textile industry, such as highpower tariffs of 16 cents/kWh and uncertainties surrounding gas/RLNGavailability and pricing. Pakistan’s textile exports hold significantimportance as they constitute a major portion of the country’s exports. Theyear-on-year decline is a matter of concern for the South Asian economy,which faces foreign exchange shortages and relies on debt-creating dollarinflows to bolster its reserves. While the forex reserves held by the StateBank of Pakistan have improved to $7.5 billion, external debt servicingcontinues to put pressure on these reserves, despite inflows from theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) and bilateral partners, including SaudiArabia and the UAE.
Positive developments over the exports front for Pakistan
