June 11, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 29, 1423

ISLAMABAD, June 10: Pakistan’s merchandise exports declined slightly by 0.96 per cent during the period July-May (2001-02) over the corresponding period of previous year, according to the foreign trade statistics released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) here on Monday.

Exports totalled $8.17 billion — close to 91 per cent of the modest target of $9 billion for the current financial year that had been fixed by the commerce minister apparently as a face- saving device.

The negative growth concerns the cumulative performance of the first 11 months of the current financial year with exports moving sluggishly in the initial months. But when one looks at the figures provided by the FBS concerning May 2002, the exports appear to have picked up momentum.

The exports during the month amounted to $846.16 million — 7.66 per cent more than the previous month (April 2002) and 6.67 per cent more than in May 2001.

During the 11-month period under review, imports also slowed. These amounted to $9.36 billion, down 4.46 per cent from the corresponding period of previous year. However, imports during May shot up to $1.12 billion — 25.72 per cent more than in April 2002. These also exceeded the imports during corresponding month of previous year by as much as 18.72 per cent.

The negative growth rate of both exports and imports contributed to a sharp 23.06 per cent drop in trade deficit to $1.120 billion, as compared to $1.55 billion in the corresponding period of 2000-01.

A significant aspect of the exports is the surge of wheat as an item of export. In spite of severe drought, Pakistan has found itself in the dilemma of what to do with its surplus wheat. Last year, the country had exported about 31,000 tons of wheat. The quantity of wheat exported this year so far is 5,65,864 tons.

Consequently, the share ($62.8 million) of wheat in exports of primary commodities has risen to about 8 per cent.

The share of manufactured exports in total exports this year has been 91.77 per cent, compared to 89.39 per cent for the corresponding period of previous year. This was, of course, attributable to 17.58 per cent decrease in exports of primary commodities.

TEXTILE MANUFACTURES: Within the major category of manufactured items, the textile manufactures posted an increase in their exports of about 0.60 per cent over the period July-May (2000-01). Their contribution ($5.19 billion) to exports total also improved somewhat — from 62.56 per cent in the previous year to 63.54 per cent in the current financial year.

A noteworthy aspect of this category is the export of cotton yarn, which fetched a little over one billion dollars. Its quantity (487,146 tons) registered some decline (0.69 per cent).

In terms of dollars, however, Pakistan was greater loser, because the value fetched from its export was 12.63 per cent less.

The individual textile manufactures that registered some positive growth in dollars were: Cotton cloth (10.00%), bedwear (24.76%), towels (11.24%), tents, canvas & tarpaulin (3.21%), readymade garments (5.87%), and madeup articles (including other articles) (4.77%).

OTHER MANUFACTURES: This category with exports amounting to $1.64 billion registers a decline of one per cent.

According to FBS data, the country exported 384,775 tons in the 11-month period under review — 3.80 per cent less than in the corresponding period of previous year. On the other hand, petroleum products exports have surged, posting an increase as high as 48.87 per cent, thanks to 538,569 tons exported up to the end of May 2002.