ISLAMABAD: Pakis­tan’s textile and clothing exports posted a marginal growth of 0.26 per cent in FY26, reflecting the sector’s struggle to maintain momentum amid rising production costs and weakening demand in key regional markets.

The increase, one of the weakest performances in recent years, was attributed to elevated input costs, which eroded exporters’ competitiveness, and to external shocks that disrupted shipments.

The country’s merchandise exports not only missed the annual target by $4.87bn for FY26, but also contracted, reflecting the PML-N-led coalition government’s failure to achieve visible improvement over the last four years.

Among the major setbacks was the suspension of trade with Afghanistan, which had emerged as an export market worth nearly $1.5bn. Exports to the Middle East also lost pace during the year, particularly to the UAE, Pakistan’s largest export destination in the region, further weighing on the sector’s overall performance.

In absolute terms, textile export proceeds reached $17.93bn in FY26, up from $17.88bn in the previous year. In rupee terms, the export proceeds grew 0.69pc in FY26.

However, textile and clothing exports recorded negative growth of 16.71pc to $1.267bn in June, down from $1.521bn in the corresponding month last year. Since October 2025, barring a marginal uptick in January and April, exports remained in negative territory.

The PBS data showed exports of readymade garments rose 3.87pc in value and 5.55pc in quantity during FY26, while knitwear declined 0.88pc in value and 2.63pc in quantity. Bedwear declined 0.01pc in value but increased 1.44pc in quantity.

Towel exports slightly declined 1.93pc in value and 3.08pc in quantity in FY26, whereas cotton cloth went down 7.55pc in value and 4.18pc in quantity, respectively.

Yarn exports surged 12.40pc in FY26. Exports of made-up articles, excluding towels, fell 0.71pc, while tents, canvas, and tarpaulin dipped by 3.81pc.

The import of synthetic fibre increased 7.25pc in FY27, and the arrival of synthetic and artificial silk yarn surged by 3.89pc in FY26.

The import of raw cotton declined 43.26pc during the months under review from a year ago. However, the import of second-hand clothes surged 16.36pc in FY26.

Oil imports

Pakistan’s oil import bill grew 5.76pc to $16.862bn in FY26 from $15.943bn in the preceding year, mainly driven by higher arrivals of petroleum crude.

Data showed that crude oil imports surged 31.58pc in value, with a 12.78pc rise in quantity, indicating that the higher value of crude oil is due to rising international oil prices. The value of petroleum products grew 7.05pc, while quantity declined 0.50pc in FY26.

On the other hand, imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) recorded a 36.10pc decline, while imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) grew by 3.21pc, reflecting demand for energy products.

The telecommunication group’s imports surged by 27.97pc year-on-year, mainly due to higher mobile phone arrivals in FY26. The import of mobile handsets increased by 26.55pc to $1.889bn against $1.492bn in FY25.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2026