KARACHI – Pakistan is likely to achieve record exports of $24 billion in the current financial year 2010-2011, as exports have already clocked $17.79 billion in the past nine months.
Pakistan, which hit record exports of $19.5 billion in 2009 -2010 against the target of over $17 billion, is anticipated to reach another record figure of $24 billion under the current resilience in exports, sources told Pakistan Today.
Current exports, at $17.79 billion during July-March (2010-2011), were almost 122.9 percent higher than the target of $14.486 billion following catastrophic floods in the country. The current hike in exports is spurred by an overall increase in textile price, in addition to competitiveness of Pakistani textile industries and their products, sources claimed.
Sources further said that, as textile industries – mainly the big units – have their own power plants or generators to avoid negative impacts of energy crisis in the country, textile exports had stayed unaffected.
Despite challenges faced by manufacturers, competitiveness of Pakistani companies was on a rise triggering a jump in exports. Though the Ministry of Commerce had revised the export target of $21.5 billion after the devastation of flood, exports of over two billion in the last four months clearly indicated that it would surpass the original target, set under the trade policy of 2009-2012.
According to the three year trade policy, under the Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF), the Ministry had proposed at least six percent growth for the fiscal year 2009-10, in addition to 10 and 13 percent in each of the successive years.
Provisional data from the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) depicted that the country, while keeping momentum of a present hike in exports, has achieved the highest ever monthly exports of $2.5 billion in March 2011. Exports of $2.497 billion in the past last month were 41.1 percent higher than $1.77 billion in the corresponding period last year.
Besides, cumulative exports in July-March 2010-11 were $ 17.8 billion as against $14.072 billion, exhibiting a growth of 26.5 percent. Exports, during November, 2010, were valued at $1.78 billion which was 17 percent higher than $1.52 billion in the same month last year. Cumulative exports, in July-November, 2010, were $8.95 billion compared to $7.53 billion in the corresponding period of last year – exhibiting 19 percent growth over the same period last year.
Exports, in October 2010, were $1.98 billion against $1.57 billion in the corresponding month last year. While, cumulative exports in July-October 2010 stood at $7.168 billion compared to $6.015 billion in the same period of the last financial year.
Exports in July and August 2010 were $1.788 billion and $1.772 billion respectively, almost 21 percent higher than the same periods last year.
