H1FY24 exports down 4.97pc to $8.283bn YoY

TAHIR AMIN

ISLAMABAD: The country’s textile group exports declined by around 4.97 percent during the first half (July-December) of the current fiscal year and stood at $8.283 billion compared to $8.716 billion during the same period of 2022-23, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said.

The country’s overall exports during July-December, 2023 fiscal year 2023-24 totaled $14.991 billion (provisional) against $14.244 billion during the corresponding period of last year showing an increase of 5.24 percent.

The total exports in December 2023 were $2.822 billion (provisional) as compared to$2. 573 billion in November 2023 showing an increase of 9.68 percent and increased by 22.64 percent as compared to$2.301 billion in December 2022.

The data on exports and imports released by PBS revealed that on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, textile exports registered 6.15 percent growth in December 2023 and stood at $1.399 billion compared to $1.318 billion in November 2023. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, textile exports increased by 3.33 percent in December 2023 when compared to $1.354 billion in December 2022.

Cotton yarn exports increased by 54.25 percent during the first half of the current fiscal year as it stood at $588.529 million compared to $381.545 million during the same period of the last fiscal year.

On a year-on-year basis, cotton yarn exports registered 78.55 percent growth and stood at $95.252 million when compared to $53.349 million in December 2022, while on a MoM basis, it registered 11.13 per cent growth when compared to $85.713 million in November 2023.

Rice exports increased by 76.53per cent during the first half of the current fiscal year and stood at $1.638 billion when compared to $927.918 million during the same period of the last fiscal year.

Food group exports increased by 49.84per cent during the first half of the current fiscal year and stood at $3.481 billion when compared to $2.323 billion during the same period of last fiscal year.

Main commodities of exports during December 2023 were rice others (Rs124,040 million),knitwear (Rs103,898 million), readymade garments (Rs84,569 million), bed wear (Rs64,119 million),cotton cloth (Rs40,678 million), cotton yarn (Rs26,984 million), towels (Rs24,814 million),rice basmati (Rs22,888 million), made-up articles (excl. towels and bedwear) (Rs16,991 million)and meat and meat preparations (Rs12,472 million).