According to a report on the global economic situation released by the United Nations,in 2022,the investment and expansion plan of Pakistan's textile industry is USD 3.5 billion,of which USD 1.5 billion has been completed,and USD 2 billion is planned to be invested before June 2022.Pakistan's economy grew at a rate of 4.5% in 2021,and its GDP is expected to grow by 3.9% in 2022.

Trade data

Before the pandemic,Pakistan's exports increased by 28%,making it the fastest growing country in the world.In 2021,Pakistan's export,import and trade surplus reached a record high;its exports reached US$ 17.4 billion,an increase of 27.7% over 2019;imports reached US$ 4.6 billion,up 60.8% year-on-year;the trade surplus was US$12.8 billion,an increase of 18.8% over 2019.

In terms of value,the growth in textile exports in December 2021 witnessed an increase of 15.9% as compared to SPLY.The total textile exports in December 2021 were $1,624 million in value (compared to $1,401 Million in SPLY).

Pakistan's exports recovered strongly in 2021.Compared with December 2020,Pakistan's textile exports in December 2021 increased by 15.9%,totaling USD 1.624 billion,nearly USD 180 million more than in 2020.Among them,the export categories of textiles are knitted products(27%),ready-made clothes (21%),bedding (16%),cotton cloth (12%),cotton yarn (7%),towels (6%),finished products (4%) and other textile materials (4%).Increased by 78%,29%,22%,21%,17%,15% and 11% respectively.

Import surge of fibers essential driver for successful export performance in apparel and textile made-ups.H2 2021 imports witnessed major structural changes in favor of cotton and viscose over same period in 2020.Weak polyester imports direct response to local manufacturing surging.Worn clothing imports soared 76% both by value ($214 million) and quantity (505,000 tonnes),seemingly unaffected by any inflationary pressure seen otherwise.

Textile chain investments

In January to October 2021,cotton yarn production at 2.9 million tonnes was 15.7% above previous year’s period and tolerably stagnant to precrisis period (+0.6%).Similarly,cotton fabric production rose 15.2% over 2020 to 875 million sqm,which was comparable to 2019 as well(+0.3%).Business in first half of FY 2021/22 was primarily driven by fiber imports of raw cotton(+31%) after disastrous 2020/21 cotton produc-tion hitting lowest volume since mid-1980s and viscose (+12%) fiber.

Cotton is an essential crop despite multi-year decreases from 2.3 million tonnes in 2014/15 season to 0.9 million tonnes in 2020/21.The favorable conditions and higher output in 2021/22 are expected to exceed the delivery speed of cotton ginning mill,which will reduce the necessity of foreign sourcing and help to raise margins given that Cotlook A-index end January at 10-year high.