Pakistan posts highest monthly textile exports of $1.74bn in April

May 16, 2022 (MLN): The country has witnessed the highest ever monthly textile exports of $1.739 bn during April 2022, up by 31% YoY and 7% MoM, the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed.

During the ten months (July-April) of the current fiscal year, textile exports posted a growth of 26% YoY to $15.98bn when compared to $12.69 recorded in 10MFY21.

The year-on-year increase in exports is due to strong demand in the West before the summer season, while other factors include the resumption of economic activity, which has led to a shortage of various retail brands, competitive utilities and borrowing rates.  

In the value-added segment, knitwear, readymade garments, bed-wear, and towels registered an upsurge of 44%, 44%, 16%, and 28%, YoY to $488mn, $351mn, $279mn and $108mn during April 2022 compared to the same month last year.  

Meanwhile, the country exported food commodities worth $524mn during April 2022, registering a jump of 35.7% YoY or 2.2% MoM.

Commodity-wise, rice remained the primary source of foreign exchange earnings during the review period as its exports were valued at $259.6mn, up by 37% YoY. While the export of fish & fish preparations declined by 16.4% YoY to stand at $40mn.

The export value of meat and meat preparations clocked in at $35.6mn, up by 10.3% YoY.

In April 2022, the export of petroleum products posted a growth of 53.6% to $45.2mn. It was mainly led by exports of petroleum crude, standing at $38.5mn, depicting a growth of 81% YoY.

Going into details made available by PBS, the other manufactures group observed a 23.8% YoY increase during the period to $366mn. Under this group, the trade value of sports goods stood at $36mn, up by 21.5% YoY.  The country earned $51.54mn through the export of leather manufactures, marking a growth of 26% YoY.

The exports of chemical and pharmaceutical products witnessed an increase of 42.7% to value at $153mn during April 2022. The major chunk of exports under the chemical and pharma group during the said period was mainly from the other chemicals and plastic materials which clocked in at $92.7mn and $35.4mn, showing significant growth of 35.6% YoY and 83% YoY.

“Textile exports growth is likely to remain strong in the upcoming months due to continued rerouting of orders out of China. Also, the surge in freight charges on shipments of unfinished products to competitors like Bangladesh is likely to fare well for Pakistan, as various brands have started routing orders to Pakistani exporters in order to arrest thinning margins,” Abdul Ghani Mianoor at Intermarket Securities said.

According to channel checks, demand for value-added products is likely to remain intact, as orders have been booked for at least the next 3mths, while procurement of cotton at lower than prevailing rates is likely to result in sustained strong margins for the remainder of FY22. However, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine issue has led to a surge in global inflation, which if prolonged, may potentially lead to a moderate slowdown in export growth, he added.

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