Pakistan’s textile and clothing exports held broadly flat at roughly $18 billion during FY26, though the Pakistan Textile Council (PTC) has cautioned that a declining domestic cotton harvest represents an increasingly serious structural threat to the export-driven sector.
Figures from the PTC’s annual export performance review show textile and apparel shipments totalled $18.004 billion across FY26, marking a modest uptick of just 0.3% from the $17.95 billion recorded in FY25. By contrast, Pakistan’s total merchandise exports slid 5.9% to $30.14 billion over the same period.
Strain is nevertheless building at the raw-material end of the supply chain. Home-grown cotton output slumped to 5.5 million bales this season, the weakest showing in thirty years.
This compares starkly with the all-time high of 14.8 million bales achieved back in 2011-12, meaning current production sits almost 70% below that peak.
The PTC attributed the fresh downturn to punishing heat during the June-July flowering window, alongside acute water scarcity across Sindh and the southern reaches of Punjab.
With local cotton supplies dwindling, textile producers are turning increasingly to imported raw materials, a shift that threatens to push up manufacturing costs and erode the competitive edge of Pakistan’s export-focused textile industry.
This strain is already visible in the trade figures. Overseas shipments of raw materials and intermediate textile goods falling under Chapters 50-60 dropped 3.4% to $3.026 billion in FY26, the weakest performance in five years and well below the $4.498 billion posted in FY22.
Cotton accounted for over 80% of this raw-material and intermediate category, yet cotton exports themselves fell 1.5% to $2.486 billion. Man-made staple fibre shipments, meanwhile, tumbled 8.8%.
Man-made filament exports suffered an even sharper 26.2% fall, whilst knitted fabric shipments dropped 20.7%.
Despite these pressures, Pakistan’s textile sector has continued its migration towards higher-value output. Exports classified under Chapters 61-63 climbed 1.1% to $14.979 billion in FY26.
Such products now make up 83.2% of overall textile exports, up from a 77% share in FY22.
Non-knit garments delivered the strongest performance amongst the major value-added categories, with exports up 3.9% to $4.295 billion. Made-up textile articles also edged higher, rising 0.6% to $5.705 billion. Knitwear, however, slipped 0.7% to $4.979 billion.
The PTC warned that gains in value-added exports are currently disguising deeper vulnerabilities within the textile supply chain, stressing that Pakistan must secure adequate raw material whilst keeping manufacturing costs internationally competitive.
Elsewhere, the United States remained Pakistan’s biggest single growth market, with textile exports to the country rising to $4.853 billion from $4.768 billion previously.
Shipments to China likewise expanded, reaching $644 million against $527 million a year earlier.
The European Union continued to be Pakistan’s largest overall textile market, although exports to the bloc eased to $7.103 billion from $7.248 billion. Sales to the United Kingdom also dipped marginally, to $1.730 billion from $1.749 billion.
The sector is additionally grappling with mounting logistical and financial burdens, as extended shipping times, steeper freight costs, expensive energy, costly credit and tax-related pressures continue to weigh on exporters.
These difficulties sharpened towards the close of FY26, with textile and apparel exports falling 17% year-on-year to $1.27 billion in June 2026, down from $1.53 billion in the same month of 2025.
In response, the PTC has called for a comprehensive national cotton strategy, centred on improved seed quality, digitisation for farmers and greater supply-chain traceability.
The council has further pressed the government to lower energy and financing costs, alongside calls to accelerate tax refunds and enhance export logistics.
Heading into FY27, Pakistan’s textile industry confronts a number of structural headwinds, with the contracting domestic cotton base standing out as the foremost concern.
Given that textiles represent close to 60% of Pakistan’s total merchandise exports, persistent declines in domestic cotton output could drive up costs and weigh on the sector’s export growth over the longer term.
Image courtesy: DWIJ
