KARACHI: The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association (PHMA) on Friday said that the high manufacturing costs, difficulties in business operations, policy hurdles and an uneven playing field were undermining the competitiveness of the country’s export industry, despite apparel and textile exports rising by 44 percent over the past decade.
In a statement newly elected PHMA Central Chairman Syed Zia Alamdar Hussain, former Chairman Muhammad Babar Khan, Central Senior Vice Chairman Abdul Jabbar Gajiani and Central Vice Chairman Mian Farrukh Iqbal said Pakistan’s textile exports had increased from USD12.447 billion in 2015-16 to USD17.933 billion in 2025-26, registering a 44.07 percent increase over the last 10 years.
During the same period, Pakistan’s total exports rose from USD20.787 billion to USD30.139 billion, showing an increase of 44.99 percent, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data.
The PHMA office-bearers said the apparel and textile sector remained the country’s largest contributor to exports, economic growth and foreign exchange earnings. Knitwear and hosiery accounted for approximately 28 percent of the textile export group, while the textile and apparel sector provided employment to around 1.5 million people and contributed about 8.5 percent to the national GDP.
The PHMA leaders said exports could be increased manifold if the government give top priority to export-oriented industries and address the structural issues that had slowed export growth. They identified the high cost of doing business and manufacturing, difficulties in the ease of doing business and the lack of a level playing field as major hurdles to improving exports and competing in international markets.
They said the federal government was responsible for framing and implementing export-friendly policies and creating a business environment that enabled exporters to compete effectively in the global market. “Export policy and its implementation are the responsibility of the Federal Government, not the exporters,” they said.
They said policy continuity was essential because exporters needed certainty to make investment decisions, expand production, introduce new technology and develop long-term relationships with international buyers.
They stressed the need to reduce the cost of manufacturing and doing business, improve ease of doing business and provide a level playing field so that Pakistani exporters could compete with producers from other countries.
They called for close cooperation between the government and industry to remove structural barriers, improve competitiveness and create an environment conducive to investment and export growth.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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