Textile Sector Faces Deepening Crisis, Warns, PTC Chairman

ISLAMABAD ( WNAM REPORT ):  The Pakistan Textile Council (PTC) has sounded the alarm over the continuing deterioration in the country’s export performance, as revealed in its Quarterly Export Report (July–September 2025).
According to the report, Pakistan’s total exports dropped to $7.62 billion, reflecting a 3.4% decline from $7.89 billion in the same period last year. The situation worsened in September 2025, when exports plunged 11% year-on-year, from $2.81 billion to $2.50 billion — marking one of the sharpest monthly declines in recent quarters.
“The persistent contraction in exports signals an alarming erosion of Pakistan’s competitiveness in global markets,” warned Mr. Fawad Anwar, the PTC Chairman. “This sustained downward spiral threatens jobs, investment, and the survival of thousands of export-oriented manufacturing units across the country.”
The textile sector — Pakistan’s largest export earner — also showed signs of distress. In September 2025, textile exports fell 2% year-on-year, from $1.61 billion to $1.58 billion, despite modest gains in value-added categories. Almost all traditional and intermediate textile segments recorded heavy losses:
• Cotton (Ch 52): down 7.8%
• Man-made filaments (Ch 54): down 21%
• Wadding, felt & nonwovens (Ch 56): down 12.9%
• Carpets (Ch 57): down 11.4%
• Knitted fabrics (Ch 60): down a staggering 29.5%
• Other vegetable fibers (Ch 53): down 47.3%
“These figures are deeply worrying,” Fawad Anwar noted. “The decline across nearly every traditional category indicates that Pakistan is losing ground not just in high-end apparel, but even in the raw and intermediate textile segments that once formed the backbone of our export chain.”
While value-added textile exports (Ch 61–63) posted a marginal year-on-year growth of less than 1%, PTC cautioned that this uptick was too weak to offset broader losses.
In September 2025, value-added exports stood at $1.31 billion, up slightly from $1.299 billion a year earlier, and 4% higher month-on-month from August 2025.
However, detailed product-level analysis paints a bleak picture:
• Other bed linen (HS 6302.31.90) dropped 2.5% to $115 million.
• Cotton bed linen (HS 6302.31.30) plunged 12.6% to $97 million.
• Worn clothing (HS 6309.00.00) slipped 2.7% to $72 million.
• Knitted T-shirts and vests (HS 6109.90.90) fell 9.5% to $85 million.
• Knitted gloves (HS 6116.10.00) declined 7.9% to $58 million.
• Cotton suits and jackets (HS 6203.22.00) tumbled 17.8% to $429 million.
• Men’s bathrobes and gowns (HS 6207.91.00) contracted 16.7% to $10 million.
“These are not just numbers — they are warning signs of an unfolding industrial crisis,” Fawad stressed. “Factories are struggling to retain workers, energy costs remain crippling, and export orders are shifting to regional competitors like Bangladesh, Vietnam, and India.”
The PTC urged urgent government intervention to stabilize export competitiveness through consistent energy pricing, improved market access, and a revival of the textile value chain.
“If immediate corrective measures are not taken,” Mr. Anwar cautioned, “Pakistan risks irreversible damage to its export base — and with it, the very foundation of its economic stability.”