Pakistan’s textile exports rose 5.55% to $3.379 billion during July-August of fiscal year 2026-27, supported by garments, knitwear and cotton yarn.
The sector earned $3.202 billion during the corresponding period last year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The bureau released its Monthly Advance Releases on Foreign Trade Statistics on Friday.
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However, August brought a slowdown. Textile exports increased compared with August last year but fell sharply from July, highlighting an uneven start to the fiscal year.
Garments and cotton yarn drive gains
Ready-made garment exports climbed 13.59% to $827.001 million, compared with $728.088 million a year earlier. The category added approximately $98.9 million in export earnings.
Cotton yarn recorded the strongest percentage growth among the listed categories. Its exports jumped 34.80% to $160.679 million from $119.195 million.
Knitwear remained the largest listed textile export category, rising 4.79% to $1.004 billion from $958.634 million.
Towel exports increased 6.74% to $191.135 million, against $179.063 million previously.
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Made-up articles, excluding towels and bedwear, earned $146.032 million, up 6.95% from $136.540 million. Other textile materials generated $133.153 million, an increase of 3.91% from $128.140 million.
Together, these gains helped offset weaker earnings across several fabric and household textile categories.
Cotton cloth and bedwear decline
Cotton cloth exports fell 7.66% to $276.255 million from $299.180 million. That represented a reduction of approximately $22.9 million.
Bedwear exports slipped 0.31% to $563.545 million, compared with $565.322 million last year.
Exports of yarn other than cotton yarn dropped 31.78% to $4.051 million from $5.938 million.
Tents, canvas and tarpaulin exports declined 7.17% to $14.877 million, against $16.026 million. Art, silk and synthetic textile exports fell 11.33% to $58.638 million from $66.131 million.
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For August alone, textile exports reached $1.565 billion, up 2.77% from $1.523 billion a year earlier.
However, earnings declined 13.68% from July’s $1.814 billion. Earlier reporting showed July textile exports had grown 8.07% year-on-year, indicating slower annual growth in August.
Imports outpace overall export growth
Pakistan’s total goods exports reached a provisional $5.494 billion during July-August, up 7.73% from $5.1 billion.
Textiles accounted for approximately 61.5% of that total, based on the supplied figures.
August goods exports stood at $2.542 billion, falling 13.86% from July’s $2.951 billion. They nevertheless increased 5.22% from $2.416 billion in August 2025.
Meanwhile, August imports reached $5.848 billion, down 15.22% from July’s $6.898 billion. Imports rose 10.59% compared with $5.288 billion a year earlier.
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Two-month imports increased 14.56% to $12.745 billion from $11.125 billion, outpacing export growth.
The figures imply a July-August goods trade deficit of approximately $7.251 billion, compared with $6.025 billion last year. The overall trade totals remain provisional.
