ISLAMABAD: According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday, textile and apparel exports decreased for the third consecutive month as a result of rising manufacturing costs and a lack of liquidity.
In the first quarter (July-September) of FY24, the export value of textile and garment goods decreased by 9.95% to $4.12 billion from $4.58 billion in the same period of FY23.
From $1.52 billion in the same month last year, textile and apparel exports decreased 10.88 percent to $1.36 billion in September.
Gohar Ejaz, the interim minister of commerce, stated last month that the government would soon provide energy prices to textile exporters that were competitive with those in the area and would also help them with their cash flow problems by releasing delayed sales tax refunds. The choice, though, hadn’t yet been put into practice.
In FY23, textile and apparel exports decreased 14.63 percent to $16.50 billion. However, the overall value of goods exported fell 12.71 percent to $27.54 billion from $31.78 billion the year before.
According to PBS data, ready-made clothing exports down 11.21 percent in value from July through September but increased by 8.24 percent in quantity. Knitwear exports fell 15.83 percent in value but increased 34.14 percent in quantity, and bedwear had a negative rise of 10.02 percent in both value and quantity.
However, exports of towels saw a modest increase of 2.89 percent in value and 16.24 percent in volume, while cotton clothing saw a decline of 18.15 percent in value and 7.50 percent in volume.
However, during the first quarter of FY24, the export of raw cotton and yarn surged by nearly 12 and 33.5 percent, respectively.
In comparison to a year before, the export of manufactured goods (excluding towels) decreased by 8.24 percent, tents, canvas, and tarpaulin by 8.24 percent, and art, silk, and synthetic material by 23.08 percent.
Between July and September, the import of textile machinery fell by 75.38 percent, indicating that modernization or expansion projects were not given priority.
Furthermore, from July to September of last year, the import of raw cotton decreased by 68.73 percent.
However, there was a 113.90% growth in synthetic silk yarn production, a 42.80% increase in used apparel, and a 21.41% increase in the import of synthetic fiber.
Total exports decreased 3.63 percent to $6.91 billion in the first quarter of FY24 from $7.17 billion in the corresponding quarter last year.
Oil and food imports are declining.
According to PBS data, imports of food and oil fell by 29.41% in the first quarter of the current fiscal year to $5.35 billion from $7.58 billion.
During the period under review, there was a discernible reduction in both the volume and value of major imports due to the economic slowdown and a sharp decline in consumer purchasing power.
The cost of importing oil fell by 28.03 percent in dollars during the third quarter of FY24, from $4.86 billion to $3.50 billion.
Due to a significant currency devaluation, the decline in rupee terms was relatively smaller this year, at 5.86 percent, totaling Rs1.02 trillion as opposed to Rs1.08 trillion last year.
As a result, shipments of petroleum products decreased by 82.82 percent in 3MFY24 compared to the previous year. Crude oil and petroleum product exports fell by 100 percent and 39.43 percent, respectively.
The imports of petroleum products decreased by 26.03 percent in number and 36.55 percent in value between July and September, according to PBS data.
The quantity of imported crude oil fell by 18.36 percent while the price fell by 30.10 percent.
Similar to this, year-over-year liquefied natural gas imports decreased by 7.36 percent from July to September of FY24. Liquefied petroleum gas imports, on the other hand, decreased 7.79 percent in the months under consideration.
The decline in crude oil and petroleum product imports is a glaring sign of diminished transportation in the context of declining economic activity.
This also means that local oil refineries are using less of their capacity than they did last year, which will negatively impact their profitability.
the foodstuffs
With a significant decrease in the arrival of palm oil and pulses, the food import bill also decreased by nearly 32 percent, from $2.72 billion in the third fiscal year to $1.85 billion in the first quarter.
Palm oil imports dropped 33.21 percent, then pulse imports down 1.45 percent, and soy bean oil imports dropped 25.91 percent. However, during the time under consideration, imports of dry fruits increased by almost 50% and tea increased by 22.34 percent.
equipment arrives
From $1.76 billion in 3MFY23 to $1.65 billion in July-September, machinery imports fell 6.29 percent, mostly because of a fall in practically all categories of machinery, with the exception of office machinery and mobile phones.
Imports of mobile phones increased by more than 89.71 percent to $304.05 million from $160.26 million. This is the single largest portion of the first quarter’s total value of imported machinery.
Textile, power generation, agricultural, and electrical appliance machinery imports decreased over the course of the investigation.
The imports of the transportation industry decreased by 32.65 percent, to $405.64 million, from $602.29 million in the same months last year.