Textile exports contract for third month in a row

Textile and clothing exports fell for third month in a row due to growing production costs and liquidity crunch, according to statistics issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday. The export value of textile and clothing exports shrank 9.95 per cent in the first quarter (July-September) FY24 to $4.12 billion from $4.58bn in the corresponding period last year. In September, the textile and clothing exports contracted 10.88pc to $1.36bn from $1.52bn in the same month last year. Caretaker Commerce Minister Gohar Ejaz last month announced that the government would soon offer regionally competitive energy prices to textile exporters and resolve their cash flow issues by releasing pending sales tax refunds. However, the decision was yet to be implemented. The exports of textile and clothing contracted by 14.63pc to $16.50bn in FY23. However, the total merchandise exports dipped 12.71pc to $27.54bn from $31.78bn in the preceding year.