ISLAMABAD – The Pakistan Textile Council (PTC), while expressing concern over the recent decline in Pakistan’s exports, in August 2025, has urged the government to act urgently to implement regionally competitive policies and remove bottlenecks for boosting country’s exports.
Alarmingly, Pakistan’s exports fell by 12.5% year-on-year in August 2025, with a 10% month-on-month decline, underscoring continued volatility in external trade, said Pakistan Textile Council’s monthly report of Pakistan’s textile & apparel. “The numbers clearly show that Pakistan’s export engine is losing momentum, particularly in August 2025, where sharp declines have been recorded across key categories,” said the PTC report. The PTC has expressed serious concern over the recent decline in Pakistan’s export performance, particularly in the textile and apparel sector, despite its central role in sustaining the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
According to PTC’s latest Monthly Report on Textile & Apparel Exports (July–August 2025), Pakistan’s total exports stood at $5.1 billion, reflecting a negligible growth of 0.65% compared to the same period last year. Alarmingly, exports fell by 12.5% year-on-year in August 2025, with a 10% month-on-month decline, underscoring continued volatility in external trade. Exports of textile and apparel sector, which accounts for nearly 63% of Pakistan’s total exports, were recorded $3.21 billion in July–August 2025, up 10% compared to the previous year. However, in August 2025, exports plunged to $1.53 billion, marking a 7% year-on-year decline and a 9% month-on-month fall.
Persistent decline in traditional textiles (HS 50–60) continues, falling from $685 million in FY22 to only $523 million in FY26, with cotton exports alone dropping 3.5% and knitted fabrics down 32.7% Although showing long-term resilience, value-added textiles (HS 61–63) also dipped in August 2025, with knitwear, non-knit apparel, and made-ups collectively falling 13% month-on-month. While the EU remains Pakistan’s largest market at $1.3 billion, exports to the United States have stagnated over the past five years at $878 million, reflecting lost competitiveness.
In its policy recommendations, PTC emphasized that the current export trajectory is unsustainable without urgent structural reforms. The Council urged the government of Pakistan to adopt the following measures without delay: Regionally competitive and predictable energy pricing for export industries, liquidity and tax reforms, including automated 72-hour refunds and zero-rating of inputs under the Export Facilitation Scheme, alignment of wage and labor policies with competitor economies to restore cost competitiveness, support for HS 50–60 sectors, including cotton quality improvements and lower costs for spinning/weaving. The PTC also recommended financing facilitation, including strengthening EXIM Bank and expanding Export Finance (EFS) and Long-Term Financing Facilities (LTFF).
Policy stability, with a legally backed 5-year textile and apparel export strategy, monitored transparently with monthly KPIs. Pakistan’s top five textile and apparel export destinations showed nominal growth in 2025– 26 compared to the previous year. The EU (27) was the largest market with exports rising from $1149 million to $1303 million, followed by the United States at $878 million, the UK at $309 million, Bangladesh $121 million and the UAE with $101 million. The exports of textiles and apparel from Pakistan to the EU show generally a stable trend over the five-year period. Exports to EU were $1,020 million in 2021-22 and are at $1,303 million in 2025–26. The exports of textiles from Pakistan to the United States showed a generally stable trend over the five-year period. The highest exports were recorded in 2021–22 at $894 million. Overall, exports stood at $894 million five-year period. The highest exports were recorded in 2021–22 at $894 million. Overall, exports stood at $894 million in 2021–22 and remained at $878 million in 2025–26, reflecting a marginal decline.
The textile exports of Pakistan to the United Kingdom show an overall increasing trend across the five-year period. The highest exports were recorded in 2025–26 at $309 million. Overall, exports rose from $288 million in 2021–22 to $309 million in 2025–26, reflecting an increase of 7.3%. The exports of Pakistan to Bangladesh show declining trend from 2021-22 to 2023-24 and then slight pickup in 2024-25 and 2025-26. The highest exports were recorded in 2021–22 at $129 million. In 2025-26 the exports are now $121 million. In conclusion, the report said the numbers clearly show that Pakistan’s export engine is losing momentum, particularly in August 2025, where sharp declines have been recorded across key categories. The government must act urgently to implement regionally competitive policies and remove bottlenecks if Pakistan is to safeguard its global market share, protect jobs, and sustain foreign exchange inflows.
