Footballs' export up 10.64pc in 11 months

ISLAMABAD: Export of footballs from Pakistan during July-May (2017-18) has increased by 10.64 percent as compared to same month of the previous year.

As many as 37.28 million numbers of manufactured footballs valuing US $153.018 million were sent abroad during the period under review compared to export of 32.568 million footballs worth of $138.3 million during July-May (2016-17), latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The increase in export of footballs is witnessed amid ongoing FIFA  World Cup in Russia, where Pakistan's manufactured special footballs are being used.

The football that is being used in the tournament is technically termed as thermo bonded, which was first introduced in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Before that, Pakistan had supplied hand stitched football for almost all the World Cups from the 1990s to 2010.

Meanwhile, on year basis, the export of footballs also witnessed a surge of 29.4 percent in May 2018 compared to that of May 2017.

During the month 4.164 million footballs worth of $15.6 million were supplied across the globe compared to the export of 2.712 million footballs valuing $12.083 million in May 2017.

Similarly on month on month basis the footballs export also witnessed an increase of 2.02 percent as the export during April 2018 stood at $15.3 million against the export of $15.6 million in May this year.