KARACHI: Pakistan’s textile exports fell 28% to $1.2 billion in February, the fifth consecutive month of decline.
All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) data indicated a gloomy image of textile exports, the largest export sector and largest employer in the economy.
The APTMA reported that textile exports fell 11% to $11.24 billion in the first eight months of the current financial year from $12.60 billion in the same period last year.
Textile exports are falling as foreign exchange reserves fall to $3.81 billion, hardly enough for a month of imports.
APTMA requested a national gas price of $7 per mmBtu for the export industry last month.
It cautioned that suspending the regionally competitive energy tariff (RCET) for export-oriented units (EOUs) will damage the textile industry, particularly in Punjab.
APTMA Secretary General Shahid Sattar wrote to the government that the textile industry has been asking for a 9-cent electricity tariff despite the fact that the electricity cost, including transmission and distribution losses, was 8.1 cents per unit if cross-subsidies were excluded, according to Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) calculations.
The textile group wants the government to convince the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to extend RCET for exporters, notably the textile sector, which was essential for international competitiveness.
Sattar stated, “We spent $5 billion in the textile sector over the last three years, and the textile sector grew to $19.5 billion in FY2022 from $12.5 billion in FY2020.
He noted that if the government caves to IMF pressure, FY22 export growth of 55% and $5 billion in investment would be wasted.
