The country’s textile sector exports have experienced a growth of 1.25 percent during the first seven months (July-January) of the 2025-26 financial year, reaching USD 10.904 billion, compared to USD 10.777 billion in the same period of 2024-25, according to the advance release of external trade statistics for December 2025, issued on Tuesday.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), during the period under review, Pakistan exported knitwear worth USD 3.098 billion against USD 3.033 billion, bedwear USD 1.92 billion against USD 1.868 billion, ready-made garments USD 2.58 billion against USD 2.441 billion, cotton cloth USD 992.17 million against USD 1.129 billion, made-up articles USD 469 million against USD 660.32 million, and other textile materials USD 457.5 million against USD 432.92 million.
Meanwhile, the food group, including rice exports during July-January, witnessed a decline of 35.29 percent, reaching USD 2.989 billion against USD 4.614 billion during the same period of 2024-25.
Overall rice exports declined by 40.51 percent, from USD 2.194 billion to USD 1.305 billion. Basmati exports, with a decline of 6.62 percent, remained at USD 477.7 million against USD 571.6 million, and IRRI-6 exports, with a decline of 50.9 percent, remained at USD 827.8 million against USD 1.62 million.
Main commodities of exports during January 2026 were ready-made garments Rs121.818 billion, knitwear Rs119.897 billion, bedwear Rs86.381 billion, basmati rice Rs55.840 billion, IRRI-6 rice Rs46.620 billion, cotton cloth Rs46.219 billion, towels Rs32.569 billion, made-up articles excluding towels and bedwear Rs22.674 billion, cotton yarn Rs20.574 billion, and petroleum products excluding top naphtha Rs18.822 billion.
Main commodities imported during January 2026 were petroleum crude worth Rs109.678 billion, palm oil Rs102.871 billion, petroleum products Rs85.740 billion, plastic materials Rs76.775 billion, iron and steel Rs74.944 billion, liquefied natural gas (LNG) Rs74.841 billion, electrical machinery and apparatus Rs59.963 billion, iron and steel scrap Rs56.188 billion, mobile phones Rs50.287 billion, and motor cars (CKD/SKD) Rs45.498 billion.
According to PBS, Pakistan’s exports during July-January 2025–26 totalled USD18.190 billion against USD19.583 billion during the corresponding period of last year, showing a decrease of 7.11 percent.
Meanwhile, the country’s imports during July-January 2025-26 totalled USD40.260 billion, compared with USD36.771 billion during the same period last year, showing an increase of 9.49 percent.
The data shows that the country’s balance of payments touched a negative USD22.07 billion during the first seven months of the current financial year.
Food imports alone amounted to USD5.5 billion during the seven months of 2025-26, compared with USD4.614 billion during the same period of 2024-25, reflecting an increase of 19.26 percent.
These included sugar, milk, butter, cream, dried fruits, tea, spices, soy, and palm oil, with palm oil imports showing an increase of 24.7 percent from USD1.885 billion to USD2.35 billion; pulses from USD630 million to USD492 million showing a decrease of 22percent; spices from USD130 million to USD146 million showing an increase of 12.6 percent; sugar from USD0.218 million to USD174.6 million showing an increase of 8,000 times, and tea from USD372.55 million to USD376.6 million showing an increase of 1.13 percent.
Metal imports stood at USD3.88 billion against USD3.263 billion, showing an increase of 18.8 percent during the first seven months of the ongoing financial year compared with the previous year, as iron, steel, and scrap imports with an increase of 7.47 percent stood at USD1.24 billion against USD1.157 billion, and iron and steel imports with an increase of 31 percent stood at USD1.63 billion against USD1.243 billion.
The petroleum import bill surged to USD9.046 billion in the seven months, reflecting Pakistan’s continued dependence on imported energy.
Imported agricultural goods, including fertilisers, pesticides, and chemicals, totalled USD6.27 billion against USD5.76 billion during 2024-25, reflecting an increase of 8.9 percent.
Additional imports included rubber products, tyres, wood, and paperboard, with an increase of 10.68percent, standing at USD695 million, along with textile goods worth USD3.95 billion, such as raw cotton, synthetic fibre, and silk yarn. The document notes that regional instability has become a major obstacle to Pakistan’s exports. Trade with Afghanistan has remained closed for four months, largely due to the Afghan Taliban regime.
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