Pakistan: Industry eyes textile export surge next year

Pakistan's textile and clothing exports for the fiscal year to June 2012 are likely to rise by 45% on the previous year, according to projections from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).

APTMA predicts exports of US$20bn, up from the current level of US$13.8bn.

"We are expecting a record domestic cotton crop of 16m local sized bales this year, and if the average cotton price remains as low as US$1 per pound, we will manage to fetch $20bn in textile and clothing exports next year," said APTMA chairman Gohar Ejaz.

He added that the textile industry has achieved record exports of nearly US$14bn during the last fiscal year in spite of the country's severe energy crisis.

Gohar said the country's textile industry plans to invest US$7bn over the next four years to replace ageing machinery, but that high interest rates are hampering this goal.

The forecast comes as Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports increased by more than 35% to US$13.8bn in the fiscal year to June 2011, with the textile and clothing sector seeing its share of the country’s total export receipts rising to over 55%.

www.just-style.com