Textile exports up by 26 per cent

Exports from food group also rise.

KARACHI: Textile product exports have increased to $7.45 billion in the first seven months of the current fiscal year, a 26 per cent increase over the corresponding period in the preceding year.

According to the Trade Development Authority, the major items exported include cotton cloth, knitwear, cotton yarn, bedwear and readymade garments, comprising 45 per cent of total textile exports.

Exports of the food group rose by 13 per cent to $2.03 billion, compared with $1.8 billion in the previous year.

The top imported items during the period include petroleum products, crude oil, chemicals, palm oil and power-generating machinery. The import bill of petroleum products was $4 billion, with an increase of 10.45 per cent, while crude oil imports cost $2.45 billion, up two per cent from last year.

The import of chemicals stood at $1.7 billion, with an increase of 11.1 per cent, palm oil at $1.09 billion with an increase of 61.1 per cent, while power-generating machinery imports cost $619 million, representing a decrease of 28 per cent.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2011.