By Ayesha Saba

Pakistan’s textile and apparel exports edged up to $18 billion in FY2025-26, despite a 5.9% decline in the country’s overall exports, as value-added products continued to strengthen their position in the sector’s export basket.

According to the Pakistan Textile Council’s Annual Export Performance Report: Pakistan’s Textile & Apparel Exports FY26, available with Wealth Pakistan, textile and apparel exports increased 0.3% from $17.95 billion in FY2024-25 to $18 billion in FY2025-26. In contrast, Pakistan’s total exports declined to $30.14 billion from $32.04 billion.

As a result, textiles and apparel accounted for roughly 60% of Pakistan’s total exports, further underlining the sector’s importance to the country’s export earnings.

The headline growth, however, masks a significant shift within the textile industry. Overall resilience in FY2025-26 came from value-added segments, while exports of raw materials and intermediate textile products continued to decline.

Exports of value-added apparel and home textile made-ups under Chapters 61-63 increased 1.1% to $14.98 billion, compared with $14.82 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, exports of raw materials and intermediates under Chapters 50-60 fell 3.4% to $3.03 billion from $3.13 billion.

The longer-term change in the composition of textile exports is even more pronounced. Value-added products accounted for 83.2% of textile exports in FY2025-26, compared with 77% in FY2021-22.

Over the same period, the share of traditional raw materials and intermediates declined from 23% to 16.8%. The report describes this as a steady structural shift as apparel and made-ups expand while upstream cotton, yarn and fabric remain under pressure.

Performance within the value-added segment was mixed. Non-knit apparel exports increased 3.9%, while home textiles and other made-up articles grew 0.6%. Knitwear exports, however, declined 0.7%.

Home textiles and made-up articles remained the largest value-added chapter, generating $5.705 billion in exports during FY2025-26, while non-knit apparel reached a record level during the year.

The report also points to changing international consumer preferences within textile products. According to industry insights contained in the report, buyers are increasingly shifting away from basic cotton and poly-cotton products towards microfiber, flannel and products with value-added finishes, while plain and undifferentiated products are losing market share.

Pakistan’s major textile export destinations remained broadly stable. The European Union remained the largest market at $7.103 billion, followed by the United States at $4.853 billion and the United Kingdom at $1.730 billion. China and Bangladesh accounted for $644 million and $620 million, respectively.

The Pakistan Textile Council said the concentration of exports in the EU, the US and the UK also leaves the industry exposed to demand shocks in a relatively small number of markets, highlighting the need to complement traditional destinations with greater access to markets in South America, Africa and the Far East.

Looking ahead, the council said sustaining the sector’s export performance would require improvements in energy competitiveness, exporters’ access to financing and tax refunds, the protection and expansion of preferential market access, more competitive shipping and logistics, and the strengthening of Pakistan’s domestic cotton base.

The FY2025-26 figures show that while Pakistan’s overall exports contracted, the textile and apparel sector largely maintained its export earnings, with the continuing shift towards value-added products providing the main support to its performance.

Credit: INP-WealthPk