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Textile exports surge by 12pc |
2004-7-15
ISLAMABAD, July 13: The growth in exports of textile manufactures, petroleum and its products by 12 and 14 per cent, respectively, helped achieve the export target of $12.273 billion during the fiscal year 2003-04 against $11.16 billion exports during the fiscal year 2002-03. Official figures compiled by the ministry of commerce showed that exports of primary commodities registered no growth during the last fiscal year. However, a four per cent growth was registered in exports of leather group, while exports of chemical and pharmaceutical products showed a modest rise of 0.9 per cent during the year under review over the previous year. According to the statistics, a copy of which was made available to Dawn on Tuesday, exports of engineering goods declined by 1.9 per cent during the fiscal year 2003-04. The major decline was noted in surgical goods and medical instruments that fell by 17 per cent. Similarly, the exports of sports items also registered a decline of 7.7 per cent to $309.5 million against $335.2 million in the previous year. The fall in exports of these products was attributed to high input costs which rendered these goods less competitive in international market. Product-wise analysis of the statistics showed that exports of textile manufactures, which constituted 65.9 per cent of the total exports, stood at $8.089 billion during the year as against $7.224 billion the previous year, showing an increase of 12 per cent. The exports of five categories - cotton cloth, knitwear, bedwear, cotton yarn and readymade garments - were over $1 billion each. The exports of readymade garments declined by 8.2 per cent to $1.003 billion during the year as against $1.09 billion in the previous year. The exports of art silk and synthetic textile declined by 18.6 per cent to $467.7 million as against $574.3 million in the previous year. Textile exports remained the main contributor to the export growth supported by a rise in exports of rice (12.9 per cent), fish (16.2 per cent) and fruits (24.4 per cent) during the year under review. The export of leather group showed an increase of four per cent during the period under review. Carpet exports decreased by 0.3 per cent because of the fact that Pakistan was facing fierce competition from China and Iran. The exports of non-traditional items like fertilizer registered a growth of 3.4 per cent, plastic materials 19.1 per cent, pharmaceutical products 17.2 per cent, petroleum products 24.5 per cent, electric fan 8.9 per cent, transport equipments 134.9 percent, electrical machinery 15.6pc, machinery specialized for industries 14.5pc, auto parts 123.8pc, other machinery 14.4 per cent, footwear two per cent, gems and jewellery 14.1 per cent, and furniture exports rose by 10.2pc over the previous year. However, the export of raw cotton declined by two per cent, wheat 95.4pc, vegetables by 8.7 per cent, petroleum crude by 35 per cent and cutlery by 4.1pc during the year under review over the previous year.
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