ISLAMABAD, Jan 2: Export of textile products marginally declined by 0.51 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year as it stood $4.487 billion against $4.51 billion last year.

Official figures released here on Wednesday by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) showed that export of almost all value-added textile products, excluding knitwear, recorded a decline during the first five months of the current fiscal year over the corresponding period last year.

Product-wise details showed that export of readymade garments witnessed a negative growth of 2.99pc to $568.443 million during the July-November period of the current fiscal year as against $585.938 million over the same period last year.

However, statistics showed that export of knitwear recorded a marginal growth of 0.88 per cent during July-November 2007-08 to $881.504 million as against $873.780 million over the same period last year.

Export of raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, cotton carded and yarn other than cotton year recorded a negative growth by 0.51 per cent, 0.01 per cent, 8.22 per cent, 53.23 per cent and 10.65 per cent, respectively, during the month of July-November 2007-08 over same months last year.

Export of cotton yarn and yarn other than cotton yarn was up by 3.07 per cent and 153.96 per cent, towels 2.02 per cent, tents, canvas 167.37 per cent, art, silk and synthetic textile 164.03 per cent, made-up articles 2.53 per cent and other textile material 24.26 per cent during the period under review over last year.

The export of bed-wear and towels declined by 6.75 per cent and 16.21 per cent during the period under review over last year. The export of other textile material also witnessed a negative growth of 2.15 per cent during the period under review.

The statistics showed that export of tents was up by 5.54 per cent, art, silk 57.14 per cent, made-up articles 38.12 per cent during the first five months of the current fiscal year over last year.