Business Recorder
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile sector exports registered a negative growth of 0.50 percent, reaching USD13.545 billion in the first nine months of the current fiscal year against USD13.613 billion in the same period of 2024-25, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Thursday. According to PBS data, the textile commodities, which contributed to exports of USD13.555 billion, included bed wear, the exports of which increased by 0.25 percent to USD2.380 billion during the months under review, as compared to the exports of USD2.374 billion last year, while the export of ready-made garments also increased by 3.77 percent to USD3.208 billion compared to USD3.091 billion last year. The other commodities that witnessed trade growth included made-up articles (excluding towels and bed-wear), the export of which surged by 0.60 percent to USD591.664 million during the July-March period this year, up from USD588.813 million in the same period of the last fiscal year. Raw cotton export is up by 199.20 percent to USD2.606 million in the first nine months of this year, as compared to USD0.871 million in the same period last year. Cotton yarn export increased by 4.42 percent to USD562.160 million from USD538.381 million. The export of all other textile materials rose by 5.47 percent to USD592.236 million in the July-March period this year against USD561.532 million in the same period last year. The textile commodities that witnessed negative trade growth included cotton cloth, the export of which declined by 10.94 percent from USD1.424 billion last year to USD1.268 billion in the first nine months this year. The export of knitwear decreased by 1.14 percent from USD3.785 billion in the first nine months last year to USD3.742 billion in the same period this year. Similarly, the export of yarn other than cotton yarn also decreased by 5.92 percent from USD25.430 million in the July-March period last year to USD 23.925 million in the same period this year. The export of towels declined by 2.10 percent from USD818.733 million in the first nine months last year to USD 801.501 million in the same period this year. Art, silk, and synthetic textile witnessed a downward trend of 10.56 percent, declining from USD303.919 million in the first nine months of the last fiscal year to USD271.812 million in the same period this year. Meanwhile, on a Year-on-Year (YoY) basis, the textile exports from the country witnessed a reduction of 7.06 percent during March 2026 as compared to the corresponding month of last year. The textile exports in March 2026 were recorded at USD1.328 billion against the exports of USD1.430 billion in March 2025. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, the textile exports, however, increased by 1.36 percent in March 2026 when compared to the exports of USD 1.311 billion in February 2026, according to PBS data. According to the PBS, Pakistan’s exports in February 2026 totalled USD2.278 billion as compared to USD3.055 billion in January 2026 showing a decrease of 25.43 percent over January, 2026 and of 8.51 percent as compared to USD2.490 billion in February, 2025. The country’s exports during July–February, 2025-26 totalled USD20.468 billion against USD22.073 billion during the corresponding period of last year, showing a decrease of 7.27 percent. On the other hand, the imports in February, 2026 totalled USD5.318 billion as compared to USD5.805 billion in January, 2026, showing a decrease of 8.39 percent over January 2026 and of 0.39 percent as compared to USD5.339 million in February, 2025. In terms of US dollars, the imports during July – February, 2025-26 totalled USD45.569 billion as against USD42.110 billion during the corresponding period of last year, showing an increase of 8.21 percent. Based on the provisional figures of imports and exports, the balance of trade in February 2026 was recorded at USD3.040 billion, while from July to February, 2025- 26 it was USD25.101 billion. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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