ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports posted a marginal growth of 0.26 per cent in FY26, reflecting the sector’s struggle to maintain momentum amid rising production costs and weakening demand in key regional markets.
The increase, one of the weakest performances in recent years, was attributed to elevated input costs, which eroded exporters’ competitiveness, and to external shocks that disrupted shipments.
The country’s merchandise exports not only missed the annual target by $4.87bn for FY26, but also contracted, reflecting the PML-N-led coalition government’s failure to achieve visible improvement over the last four years.
Among the major setbacks was the suspension of trade with Afghanistan, which had emerged as an export market worth nearly $1.5bn. Exports to the Middle East also lost pace during the year, particularly to the UAE, Pakistan’s largest export destination in the region, further weighing on the sector’s overall performance.
In absolute terms, textile export proceeds reached $17.93bn in FY26, up from $17.88bn in the previous year. In rupee terms, the export proceeds grew 0.69pc in FY26.
