ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports jumped nearly 17 per cent year-on-year in February, reported the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

Trade analysts and commerce ministry believe the growth is due to diversion of orders from China owing to the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The proceeds from textile and clothing exports reached $1.27bn during February, from $1.09bn in the same month last year.

The robust growth in the sector is seen after a long time as the past few years had been marred by single-digit increases.

The textile sector has received excessive orders in February but it is uncertain if this will continue in the coming months or not.

In the 2019-20 budget, the government had reduced the cost of raw materials and semi-finished pro­ducts used in exportable products by exempting them from all customs duties. It also promised to provide sales tax refund to export-oriented sectors.

Product-wise details show that exports of ready-made garments surged by 24.4pc in value but drifted lower in quantity by 0.68pc during February while those of knitwear rose 20.29pc in value and 46.85pc in quantity and bedwear 17.34pc and 8.59pc, respectively.

Exports of towel jumped 13.2pc in value and 11.82pc in quantity, whereas those of cotton cloth were higher by 7.57pc in value but declined 18pc in quantity.

Among primary commodities, cotton yarn exports dipped by 10.22pc while yarn other than cotton soared by 100pc, made-up articles — excluding towels — increased by 7.39pc, tents, canvas and tarpaulin 88.94pc and raw cotton 9.46pc during the month under review.

Between July-February FY20, exports of textile and clothing grew by 5.3pc to $9.37bn, from $8.9bn over the corresponding months of last year. In rupee terms, the proceeds of the sector were higher by 24.87pc.

Last week, Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the Textile Policy 2020-25 in principle which will now be processed under the rules of business.Commerce Adviser Abdul Razak Dawood in a tweet said the textile policy-making process stood completed. “Now we’ll move towards the implementation phase, which will pave the way for rapid industrialisation,” it read.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2020