Trade numbers: Hanging by a string!

The countrys exports during the July-October 2011 period stood at $7.835 billion, according to data released by FBS. This tally represents an increase of 12.25 percent, compared to the exports tally during the same period of last year. But higher prices of textile products such as knitwear, bed wear and towels are masking the steep decline in quantity of exports under each of these heads, during the period under review. A closer look at the official data reveals that the quantity of bed wear exported in the July-Oct 2011 period, fell by 19.73 percent when compared to the same period of last year. However, higher international prices of these products translated into a marginal increase in value of bed wear exports of 0.15 percent over the same period. Similar trends emerge in other value-added textile products as well. But international prices of raw cotton have tumbled from an all-time high of over 220 cents per pound in March of 2011, to around 110 cents per pound at present. Going forward, this reduction is bound to factor in to the prices of value-added textile products as well. Any such reduction would undoubtedly bring harsh tidings for the countrys exports. On the imports front, the countrys purchased goods worth $14.724 billion in the period under review, representing an increase of almost 22 percent compared to the same period of last year. Crude imports shot up by over 26 percent, despite the fact that quantity imported fell by 16.45 percent during July-Oct 2011, compared to the same period of last year. Imports of petroleum products also jetted, in both quantity and value terms, as circular debt continued to suppress the production of local refineries. It is also alarming to note that the proportion of machinery imports in total imports has witnessed a steady decline over the past four years, dropping from 17.9 percent in FY08 to 13.04 percent in FY11. Within this group, imports of construction equipment have faltered most, in-line with the depressed growth of the LSM sector in recent times.