ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan’s textile and clothing exports increased by double digits for the third consecutive month in February, indicating a recovery in orders from international buyers, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

The sector’s exports rose 19.20 per cent to $1.407 billion in February from $1.18bn during the same month last year.

However, in the first eight months of FY24, textile and clothing exports shrank 0.65pc to $11.14bn from $11.21bn in the corresponding months last year.

The decline was attributed to escalating production costs due to higher energy prices and a liquidity crunch.

Mobile phone imports surge 156pc in July-February

A few months ago, the Ministry of Commerce announced that the government would soon offer regionally competitive energy tariffs to textile exporters and resolve their cash flow issues by releasing pending sales tax refunds. However, the decision has yet to be implemented.

The PBS data showed the exports of readymade garments rose 20.32pc in value in February and 18.74pc in quantity, while knitwear grew 21.24pc in value and 52.79pc in quantity. Bedwear posted a growth of 24.53pc in value and 38.67pc in quantity.

Towel exports increased by 13pc in value and 23.73pc in quantity, whereas those of cotton cloth by 12.13pc in value and 58.91pc in quantity.

However, yarn exports increased by over 41.16pc in February from a year ago. The exports of made-up articles, excluding towels, increased by 24.98pc, and tents, canvas and tarpaulin went down by 44.12pc in February from a year ago.

The import of textile machinery increased by 23pc in February, a sign that expansion or modernisation projects were now a priority. The growth in textile machinery was observed after two and a half years.

The import of synthetic fibre increased by 35.44pc, synthetic and artificial silk yarn by 2.23pc and other textile items by 31.22pc during the month. The import of raw cotton declined by 91.18pc. However, the import of worn clothes posted a growth of 24.56pc.

In the first eight months of FY24, the total exports increased by 9pc to $20.35bn over the last year.

Oil imports

Oil imports dipped by 10.93pc in the first eight months of FY24 to $10.57bn from $11.87bn a year ago, the PBS data showed.

According to the PBS, imports of petroleum products declined by 23.16pc in value during July-February and 15.77pc in quantity. Imports of crude oil increased by 5.78pc in quantity while the value decreased by 3.80pc.

Similarly, liquefied natural gas imports increased by 2.55pc and LPG by 1.82pc during 8MFY24 on a year-on-year basis. Machinery imports increased by 21.43pc to $5.04bn in July-February from $4.15bn in 8MFY24, mainly due to an increase in imports of office machinery, electrical machinery, telecom equipment, including mobile phones, agriculture machinery and implements. All other categories of machinery recorded a negative growth.

Surging mobile imports

Mobile phone imports surged by 156.43pc to $1.148bn in 8MFY24 from $447.85m over the last year. This represents the single largest share of overall machinery import value in the first eight months of FY24.

Other mobile apparatus saw a growth of 9.76pc to $286.41m in 8MFY24 from $260.94m last year.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2024