Textile innovators forge new pathways

At China expo, Pakistani firms draw global attention, look for alliances

SHANGHAI:

Five of Pakistan's leading textile and apparel manufacturers are capturing international attention at the ongoing Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics— Autumn Edition 2025, a global trade event taking place from September 2 to 4.

Their presence underlines the vibrant revival of Pakistan's textile sector, which is riding a wave of impressive export growth.

The industry kicked off the current fiscal year with extraordinary vigour, registering a 32% surge in exports in July. The sector has shown a positive growth trend in recent months, with June recording a year-on-year increase of 7.59%.

For the entire fiscal year 2024-25, the sector's exports climbed 7.39% to $17.887 billion, up from $16.655 billion in the previous year, signaling a robust and sustained recovery.

Participating Pakistani companies are leveraging the expo to foster crucial partnerships. Pakistan Consul General in Shanghai Shehzad Ahmad Khan emphasised the strategic importance of the platform.

"Pakistani companies have a long tradition of participating in Intertextile, which offers two vital segments: one for fabrics and another for apparel," he said. "This provides an excellent opportunity for collaboration with Chinese companies, particularly in acquiring cutting-edge technology for man-made fabrics and exploring joint ventures in high-value apparel using wool, cotton and specialty materials."

The diplomat also highlighted the potential of Sino-Pakistan partnership to target international markets collectively. "This type of exhibition enables Pakistani companies to not only upgrade their technological capabilities but also form strategic alliances for entering third-party markets."

Among the Pakistani exhibitors is Azgard Nine, a producer of environmentally sustainable denim fabrics and garments for global markets. Deputy General Manager Sana Arshad expressed strong optimism based on past successes.

"Our participation in the spring edition yielded positive results and we are highly confident that this edition will open even more doors for innovation and partnership," she remarked.