Pakistan’s non-textile exports showed a growth of 25.85 percent year-on-year to $12.46 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22 because of a partial restoration of international orders and the government’s support schemes.
Mostly, the overall growth in the non-textile sector is driven by the value-added sectors. The non-textile sector is still to receive full orders to pre-Covid levels, according to the recent data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday.
In FY21, three sectors including leather garments, engineering goods, and surgical instruments maintained growth in export earnings in spite of lockdowns in many countries.
In the value-added leather sector, exports of leather garments increased by 10.15 percent and leather gloves 10.60 percent, respectively. On the other hand, the exports of raw leather rose by more than 28.50 percent during the last fiscal year.
Read more: Pakistan exported highest ever $19.35 billion worth of textile products in FY22
Pakistan is one of the leading suppliers of worldwide surgical instruments. But, these instruments are re-marketed in western countries by well-known brands. Accordingly, the export value of these non-textile goods remains very negligible.
Moreover, exports of surgical instruments recorded negative growth of 1.29 percent in FY22. While the exports of pharmaceutical products showed a decrease of 0.49 percent.
On year-on-year (YoY), the export of footwear surged by 17.70 percent led by leather and canvas footwear. The export of engineering products showed an increase of 6.24 percent year-on-year in FY22. But, the export of electric fans dropped 8.45 percent during the year under review.
Moreover, the export of carpets jacked up by 16.45 percent, while that of sports goods rose 35.45 percent in the first eight months this year from a year ago.
In the sports sector, the sales of footballs went up by 37.30 percent in July-Feb this year compared to a year ago.
During the budget 2021-22, the government has recommended numerous steps including a reduction in duty on raw materials to enhance exports of plastic, chemicals, pharmaceutical, engineering, and value-added textile products.
