Thursday, April 18 2024

Textile millers advocate export-centric policies
As the country heads towards negotiating another International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan programme, textile millers have called on the government to formulate export-oriented policies by reducing energy tariffs and tax rates to make the industry competitive in the global market. In a letter to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) stressed that as the country was going to negotiate a new IMF programme, a fundamental reform required was to foster an export-centric culture across all sectors of the economy. It was of the view that the new programme should accommodate the peculiar circumstances where the essential need was to develop and expand exports. “This will go a long way in alleviating one of Pakistan’s most pressing issues: a chronic shortage of foreign exchange.”
Related news categories: business economic-indicators textile-composite textile-spinning textile-weaving

Thursday, March 21 2024

Non-textile exports fall over 3pc in February
ISLAMABAD: Exports of non-textile value-added products registered a year-on-year growth of 0.47 per cent in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, a healthy sign of getting more orders from the international market. The non-textile products exports did not include the export value of food products during the period under review. In absolute terms, the value of non-textile products reached $4.24 billion in July to February FY24 against $4.22bn in the corresponding months of last year, according to data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In February, the export of these commodities posted a negative growth of 3.26pc to $473.37m this year against $489.33m over the same month last year. The export of engineering goods saw an increase of 71pc in February followed by 6.73pc growth in leather goods. The exports of these two commodities revived in February while a few other commodities also saw an increase. In 8MFY24, the export of footwear dropped 12.06pc and leather garments 10.97pc year-on-year in July-February FY24. The decline was also observed in leather gloves. The exports of raw leather also decreased by 22.43pc during the period under review.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators textile-composite textile-spinning textile-weaving

Tuesday, March 19 2024

Textile exports dip again despite yearly growth
After experiencing slight increases in export figures for two consecutive months, Pakistan’s textile exports have once again entered negative territory on a month-on-month basis. According to the latest figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Monday, textile group exports for February 2024 declined by 3.31% compared to January 2024, with February figures totalling $1.41 billion against January’s $1.46 billion. On a yearly basis, textile product exports managed to remain in positive territory, showing an increase of 19.20%. Export figures for February 2023 were recorded at $1.18 billion. The textile sector is a cornerstone of Pakistan’s economy, with stakeholders claiming it contributes around 60% overall. However, despite this significant role, it is not performing as expected, and the situation is deteriorating. After nearly a year of negative export figures, the sector entered positive territory in December 2023. However, it only remained positive for two consecutive months before returning to negative territory.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators textile-composite textile-spinning textile-weaving