Pakistan’s exports of major commodities continue to fall

May 28, 2020 (MLN): Just like the previous month, Pakistan’s exports performance remained miserable in the month of April 2020, as the exports of major commodities continued to fall in the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Cumulatively, during Jul-April FY20, the overall exports declined by 2% YoY to $19.65 billion as compared to $20.135 billion recorded during Jul-April FY19.

According to the data issued by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on export receipts by commodities, the Textile products remained the major exportable goods for Pakistan as it accounted 56% of the total exports during the period.  The overall exports of the textile group nosedived by 3% YoY to $11 billion from $11.36 billion recorded in the same period last year. Within the textile group, the major exportable goods include Knitwear, Readymade Garments, Bedwears and Cotton Cloth.

The exports of Knitwear declined by 3% YoY to $2.33 billion, while the exports of Readymade Garments surged by 6% YoY to $2.24 billion. Moreover, the exports of Bedwear and Cotton Cloth dipped by 2% and 9% YoY to $1.93 billion and $1.67 billion respectively during the period under review.

Food products emerged as the second leading exportable commodities accounted for 19% of the total exports. Rice and Fruits were the major sources of Foreign exchange earnings as their exports during the period recorded at $1.8 billion, up by 4% YoY and $374.6 million, depicting a slight decline of 2% YoY respectively.

The share of other Manufactured goods in the country’s total exports was 15% during the period under review. The key exportable manufactured items include Chemical and Pharmaceutical products, Leather products, Sports goods and Surgical goods and medical instruments respectively. Exports of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Products, Surgical Goods & Medical Instruments and the Sports goods declined by 13%, 2% and 6% YoY to lock in at $891.64 million, $353.3 million and $401.8 million respectively. Whereas, the exports of goods that made up of Leather such as leather garments, leather gloves and other leather manufactures remained stagnant to $420 million. This caused the overall foreign earnings from Manufactured items to decline 4%YoY to $3 billion.

Moreover, the share of Petroleum group in the country’s total export basket was hardly 2% during Jul-April FY20. During that period, the country earned $151.9 million from exports of Petroleum Crude, $75 million from Petroleum Products and $118.72 million earned from the exports of Solid Fuel including Naphta. In addition to this, the total foreign exchange earnings from the exports of these products declined significantly by 37% YoY to $345.7 million from $549.2 million in Jul-April FY19.

In the month of April’20 alone, the exports of Textile, Food, Petroleum and Manufactured Products witnessed a significant decline both on MoM basis and YoY basis. On MoM basis, the exports of Textile, Food, Petroleum and Manufactured Goods saw a fall 25%, 8%, 8% and 28% respectively, whereas, on yearly basis, the exports of Textile, Food, Petroleum and Manufactured items went down noticeably by 27%, 22%, 74% and 29% respectively.

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