ISLAMABAD, Aug 8: Exports of manufactured items jumped 21.26 per cent to $758.22 million during July 2002 as compared to corresponding period of previous year.

Giving probably a taste of stridency during the rest of the year 2002-03, the manufactured goods exports accounted for 92.71 per cent of total exports (about $815.99 million) during the first month of the current fiscal. Their share in total exports for the fiscal year 2000-01 was 91.42 per cent.

According to an analysis of the detailed provisional foreign trade figures released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics here on Thursday, value-added textile manufactures appeared to have emerged out of a long period of dormancy. Their exports totalled $566.95 million in July — 27.16 per cent more than the same month of 2001.

As percentage of manufactured exports also, they have fared surprisingly better. Whereas in July 2001, the share of textile manufactures in total manufactured goods exports was 71.30 per cent, this year it has soared by about six percentage points to 77.41 per cent.

Among the textile manufactures, cotton cloth was in the lead. In terms of dollars, their exports went up by 70.16 per cent against an increase of 70.43 per cent in their exports in terms of quantity. They accounted for 18.88 per cent of the exports figure of textile manufactures. In July 2001, their contribution was 14.11 per cent.

With one exception, all the other categories of textile products registered positive growth (in terms of dollars) as follows:

Knitwear 0.81%; bedwear 63.21%; towels 21.70%; tents, canvas & tarpaulin 62.36%; readymade garments 22.12%; art, silk & synthetic textile 39.91%; madeup articles (including other textiles) 23.38%.

Cotton yarn was the only item that experienced a downturn. Its exports were down by 0.62 per cent (in dollars), although quantitatively, these registered a rise of 1.23 per cent. As percentage of textile manufactures, their exports declined: from 17.95 per cent in July 2001 to 14.03 per cent in the same month of current year.

After a long time, the statistics also show a substantial rise in unit price of most of the manufactured textiles except in the case of cotton yarn, cotton cloth and knitwear. Exceptions to this were the low value-added cotton yarn and cotton cloth that have registered a sharp reduction in unit price.

Other manufactures exports ($106.24 million) declined in July by 25.90 per cent as compared to corresponding period of previous year. Likewise, their share in total exports too dropped by a sharp 9 per cent to 14.01 per cent during the month under review.

In this broad category, only the exports of carpets surged by 111.41 per cent (dollars). Besides, surgical goods exports also increased by a little over 28 per cent.

The exports of others, constituting 11.21 per cent of total exports, too went up by 136 per cent.

PRIMARY COMMODITIES: As their exports slowed by 1.32 per cent, their share in total exports too fell to almost 7 per cent. There is, however, nothing untoward about this because export of rice — now well past its prime period of exports — fell by a sharp 13.95 per cent in value and by about 32 per cent in quantity.