Knitwear sector, a mainstay in textile industry by Prof. Dr. Noor Ahmed Memon, Dadabhoy Institute of Higher Education.
Textile is the most important manufacturing sector of Pakistan and has the longest production chain, with inherent potential for value addition at each stage of processing, from cotton to ginning, spinning, fabric, dyeing and finishing, made-ups, and garments. This sector contributes nearly one-fourth of industrial value-added and employs about 40 percent of the industrial labor force. Barring seasonal and cyclical fluctuations, textiles products have maintained an average share of about 60 percent in national exports. Pakistan’s exports of knitwear and other knitted garments and hosiery always play the leading role in exports growth, as the industry continued to show its flexibility to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. This textile subsector earned a huge amount of foreign exchange. According to Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PHMA), the knitwear garment exports of Pakistan had surged 36.57% in the fiscal
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PAKISTAN TEXTILE JOURNAL - January 2022
year 2020-21. Total exports of the country rose from US$21.4 billion in FY20 to US$25.3 billion in the previous fiscal year and the share of textile in the overall exports came in at 60.86%. “Hosiery products have kept a major share of 15% in the textile group and this segment has the potential to contribute 25% to the total textile exports of the country,” PHMA said.
According to Association, the share of knitwear garments in total exports would rise to 20% in the fiscal year 2021-22. Had the government keenly considered proposals of the knitwear sector and addressed all problems and issues of businessmen, the contribution of knitwear garments to the total exports would have been much higher in the fiscal year 2020-21.
Table 1:Import of Knitting and Embroidery Machines Value : Rs. Million
Machines
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
Circular Knitting Machines (Dia - 165 mm)
2,097
574
249
Circular Knitting Machines(Dia >165 mm)
1,184
620
101
131
210
69
Multi-Head embroidery Machines
5,511
2,802
853
Other Circular Knitting Machines
670
595
62
14,394
4,801
1,334
Flat Knitting Machines (Stitch Bonding)
Total Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
