ISLAMABAD: The country’s textile group exports declined by around 0.65percent during the first eight months (July-February) of the current fiscal year and stood at $11.145 billion compared to $11.218 billion during the same period of 2022-23, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said.
The country’s overall exports during July-February 2023-24 totaled $20.360 billion (provisional) against $18.670 billion during the corresponding period of last year showing an increase of 9.05per cent.
The exports in February 2024 were $ 2.583 billion (provisional) as compared to $2.792 billion in January 2024 showing a decrease of 7.49 per cent over January 2024 but increased by 18 per cent as compared to $2.189 billion in February 2023.
The data on exports and imports released by PBS revealed that on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, textile exports registered 3.31 per cent negative growth in February 2024 and stood at $1.407 billion compared to $1.455 billion in January 2024.
On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, textile exports increased by 19.20 per cent in February 2024 when compared to $1.180 billion in February 2023.
Cotton yarn exports increased by 48.18 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year as it stood at $748.307 million compared to $505.015 million during the same period of the last fiscal year.
On a year-on-year basis, cotton yarn exports registered 41.16 per cent growth and stood at $78.482 million in February 2024 when compared to $55.597 million in February 2023, while on a MoM basis, it registered 3.46 per cent negative growth when compared to $81.295 million in January 2024.
Rice exports increased by 85.83 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year and stood at $2.517 billion when compared to $1.354 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year.
Food group exports increased by 54.05 per cent during the first eight months of the current fiscal year and stood at $4.969 billion when compared to $3.225 billion during the same period of the last fiscal year.
The main commodities of exports during February 2024 were knitwear (Rs93,795 million), rice others (Rs89,217 million), readymade garments (Rs85,709 million), bed wear (Rs68,071 million), cotton cloth (Rs48,438 million), towels (Rs26,394 million), rice basmati (Rs23,026 million), cotton yarn (Rs21,911 million), vegetables (Rs21,048 million) and madeup articles (excl towels and bedwear) (Rs17,346 million).
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024