A State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) study says, Pakistan textile exporters are losing their share in the US market as compared to competitors. In its first quarterly review released recently, the central bank said that in the US market overall import demand for textiles and apparel increased during July-September 2015, however, Pakistan had not been able to firm up its exports.

The study observed that the market for manmade fiber products is expanding at a fast pace, but Pakistan has failed to diversify its product range accordingly as a result, Pakistan has now begun to lose its share even in the cotton apparel market of the US. The SBP said that textile exports continued to face subdued global demand. The cloth manufacturing progressed slowly due to depressed demand from the European market.

The report added, in the yarn segment, availability for cheaper yarn from India posed serious challenges to local manufacturers. “However, the situation is expected to improve, as the government has imposed 10 per cent duty on yarn imports from November 1, 2015.” Pakistan’s textile exports registered a decline of 5.6 per cent during the first quarter of 2015-16 mainly due to shrinking global demand. The overall imports of textile and clothing of the European Union declined sharply during the period under review.

However, in the clothing segment, all major countries faced a decline in exports to the EU, except Pakistan and Bangladesh. These two countries enjoy duty-free access to this market: Pakistan in terms of GSP+ and Bangladesh via Everything-But-Arms (EBA), the SBP report said.