ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s non-textile exports grew by 24.81 per cent year-on-year to $10.26 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal year (10MFY22) owing to partial revival of international orders and the government’s support schemes.

The overall growth in this sector is mainly led by the value-added sectors. The non-textile sector has yet to receive full orders to pre-Covid levels, data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.

In FY21, three sectors — leather garments, surgical instruments, and engineering goods — have maintained growth in export proceeds despite lockdowns in many countries.

In the value-added leather sector, exports of leather garments were up by 9.62pc and leather gloves 9.96pc respectively. In contrast, raw leather exports increased by more than 33.35pc from a year ago during the first nine months (July-April).

PBS says orders yet to reach pre-Covid levels

Footwear exports increased by 21.16pc year on year, led by leather and canvas footwear. The export of engineering products was up 5.07pc year-on-year in FY22. However, the export of electric fans dipped by 2.34pc during the year under review.

The export of carpets went up by 14.59pc, while that of sports goods went up 33.43pc during the first 10 months of this year compared with a year ago. Football sales increased 40.38pc year on year in the sports sector from July to April of this year.

The government has proposed several measures in the budget for 2021-22, including a reduction in raw material duty to encourage the export of pharmaceutical, plastic, chemical, engineering, and value-added textile products.

Pakistan is one of the main suppliers of global surgical instruments. However, these instruments are re-marketed in western countries by famous brands. As a result, the export value of these products remains very negligible.

Surgical instrument exports fell 2.42pc in 10MFY22 compared to the same period in FY21.The exports of pharmaceutical products also posted negative growth of 0.60pc during the period under review. According to PBS data, the food basket increased by 20.29pc in the first ten months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period last year.

Under this category, exports of rice witnessed a growth of 17.21pc year-on-year to $2.05bn on a year-on-year basis. In quantity terms, the exports of rice reached 4.04m tonnes this year, compared to 3.19m tonnes over the corresponding period of last year.

The break up showed that basmati exports in value increased by 22.12pc and by 24.32pc in quantity, while non-basmati exports were up by 15.41pc in value and 27.22pc in quantity.

The export of spices was up by 16.33pc, followed by oilseeds, nuts 118.93pc, meat and products 1.94pc. In contrast, vegetable exports increased by 0.46pc, fruits by 4.77pc, and tobacco by 59.35pc.

Published in Dawn,May 24th, 2022