Textile value chain exports decline by 19pc

LAHORE: Pakistan's textile value chain exports declined by 19 percent and suffered a loss of $224.95 million in December 2011 over December 2010, official statistics of textile exports released on Friday showed.

The monthly report said that Pakistan exported textile products valued at $944.267 million in December as against $ 1169.217 million of the same month last year, a net loss of $ 224.95 million dollars.

Talking to Business Recorder the textile industrialists attributed this 19 percent decline in exports to devastating 20 days gas suspension in December which forced closure of textile mills and value chain units. Pakistan had also suffered a 19 percent exports loss in November 2011 when textile products worth $ 819.172 million were exported as against $ 1.027 billion during the same month last year.

The sector wise data indicates that raw cotton exports dipped by 16 percent from $44.782 million to $ 37.520 million. Cotton yarn export deceased by $ 105 million in December 2011, down from $ 237.185 million to $132.37 million, a 44 percent decline. Comparing the export figures of December 2010 and December 2011, the export statement said that cotton cloth export felled from $ 204.287 million to $ 181.688 million, 11 percent negative.

Knitwear from $ 180.447 million to 144.280 million, 20 percent down, bed wear from $ 161,171 million to 124.647 million, 23 percent down, tents, canvas & Tarpulin from $ 8.742 million to $ 3.052 million, 186 percent decline, readymade garments from $ 148.895 million to 144.612 million, art, silk & synthetic textile from $ 50.678 million to $ 44.056 million, down by 13 percent, made up articles (including others) from $ 53.287 million to $ 45.724 million, dipped by 14 percent, and other textile materials, from $ 22.114 million to $ 29.505  million,  an increase of 33 percent.

Statistics showed that the overall performance in textile and clothing exports in the first half of the FY 2011-12 posted a decline of five percent as Pakistan exported textile goods valued at $ 5.963170 billion against $ 6.255680 billion of the corresponding period of FY 2010-11.

Pakistan suffered major losses of $ 200 million in the export of cotton yarn, down from $ 977.334 million to $ 776.201 million, $ seven million in raw cotton, $ 13 million in cotton carded $ 60 million in knitwear, $ 74 million in bed wear, $ eight million in towels export, $ 11 million in art, silk & synthetic textile, $ 11 million in made-up articles during the past six months.

However Pakistan earned about $ 38 million more through export of tents, canvas and other textile materials.

Former chairman Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Iftikhar Malik told this scribe that that if gas and electricity disruption continued then for an indefinite period, the monthly textile exports declining ratio could reach 400 million dollars during the second half of the FY 2011-12 causing heavy damage to the textile sector. Owing to energy crisis in Pakistan, foreign orders for the country's value-added textile have begun to scale down up-to 30 percent this fiscal year.

Aptma sources said that the prolonged gas crisis has reduced productivity to 55 percent and millions of workers had been rendered jobless.

It is worth mentioning that that during FY 2010-11, textile and clothing sectors exports fetched $15 billion by the end of June 2011 mainly due to the rise in cotton prices in the international market and increase in demand for Pakistan's raw materials.  Experts say that Pakistan's overall textile exports were likely to hover between $11 billion and $12 billion this fiscal year, which stood at $15 billion last fiscal year.