"Pakistan’s economic problems leave textile industry in tatters"

...In Pakistan, the industry was buoyed at the tail end of the coronavirus pandemic, when it was freed of restrictions earlier than regional rivals India and Bangladesh and benefited from government financial aid, including slashed energy rates. In 2022-2023, however, textile exports fell by 15 percent to $16.5 billion...

The political chaos started in April last year, when Imran Khan was dismissed as prime minister by a vote of no-confidence. His attempts to parlay popular public support into a movement to force an early election saw him arrested in May, leading to violence that only ended with a massive crackdown on his party and its supporters. He was convicted of graft on Saturday and sentenced to three years in jail...

The textile and clothing sector employs around 40 percent of the country’s 20 million-strong industrial workforce... But many factories have closed in recent months—at least temporarily—or are no longer running at full capacity. “Perhaps 25 to 30 percent of all textile factories have closed. It is estimated that perhaps 700,000 jobs have been lost in the last year or year and a half,” said Zaman...

“Our biggest challenge going forward is having energy prices that are substantially higher than those of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China,” said Arshad. “We’re not asking for subsidies. Realistically we are asking for regionally competitive energy prices.” In the face of these challenges, the country’s textile manufacturers have lost customers globally. “Pakistan’s overall market share in the textile and garment industry was nearly 2.25 percent about two years ago. Now it’s down to around 1.7 percent,” said Aamir Fayyaz Sheikh, CEO of Kohinoor Mills...