Pakistan Textile Exporters Association warns of a steep decline in exports from October to December due to weak demand in Western markets, increased freight costs, and higher production expenses. Khurram Mukhtar, the association’s patron-in-chief, calls for government support through a Duty Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies scheme at 6% to 8%, immediate clearance of outstanding refunds, and implementation of the Export Finance Scheme at the announced rate of 4.5%.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-12,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
• Pakistan Textile Exporters Association cites weak Western demand, higher freight, rising production costs
• Exporters seek 6-8pc Duty Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies support, clearance of outstanding refunds
•
asserted
Exporters → cite → refunds
Industry says announced 4.5pc Export Finance Scheme rate yet to be implemented
ISLAMABAD:
asserted
Industry → say → rate
Textile exporters have warned the government of a steep decline in goods exports during the second quarter (October-December) of the current fiscal year, citing weakening demand in Western markets, rising freight charges and escalating production costs.
asserted
exporters → warn → markets
In a statement issued on Sunday, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) Patron-in-Chief Khurram Mukhtar said the country’s export sector was facing mounting pressure from multiple directions, threatening its competitiveness and share in international markets.
asserted
sector → issue → markets
He said inflation in Western markets had weakened demand from international buyers, while sea freight charges had increased by 1.5 to 2.5 times, squeezing exporters’ already thin profit margins.
asserted
charges → say → margins
Rising input and logistics costs were further undermining the competitiveness of Pakistani products, he added.
asserted
he → rise → products
“The decline in export trade volume is unprecedented,” Mr Mukhtar said, warning that only financially strong exporters would survive the prevailing conditions.
asserted
exporters → say → conditions
He cautioned that regaining lost market share would be extremely difficult.
asserted
regaining → caution → share
He said declining exports were affecting the entire textile value chain, including ginning, spinning, weaving, processing and knitting.
asserted
exports → say → ginning
The situation had been compounded by weak domestic demand amid high inflation, putting several segments of the industry under severe financial pressure.
asserted
situation → compound → pressure
Mr Mukhtar urged the government to provide temporary support through the Duty Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies (DLTL) scheme at a rate of 6pc to 8pc to help exporters retain their international market share.
asserted
exporters → urge → share
He also demanded immediate clearance of outstanding refunds under various heads to ease the liquidity crisis across the textile supply chain and called for the removal of cross-subsidies embedded in industrial energy tariffs to reduce production costs.
asserted
He → demand → costs
Highlighting anomalies in the Export Finance Scheme (EFS), he said the government had announced a fixed financing rate of 4.5pc in the FY27 Finance Bill, but the decision had yet to be implemented.
asserted
decision → highlight → Bill
According to him, banks were charging exporters a minimum of 5.5pc, while some were charging as much as 8.5pc, contrary to the announced rate.
uncertain
some → accord → rate
Mr Mukhtar claimed that around Rs200 billion in financing had been extended under the EFS to yarn exporters despite yarn being on the scheme’s negative list.
asserted
yarn → claim → list
He also questioned the provision of financing to sugar exporters, describing sugar as a highly regulated sector.
asserted
He → question → sector
In contrast, he said, eligible textile exporters whose export performance exceeded the State Bank of Pakistan’s mandatory requirement by a substantial margin were being denied financing allocations.
asserted
performance → say → allocations
He said some exporters were achieving five to six times the required export performance against the mandatory threshold of two times, yet were unable to obtain financing.
asserted
exporters → say → financing
Such allocations, he argued, discouraged value addition and penalised exporters contributing significantly to the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
asserted
he → argue → earnings
Mr Mukhtar welcomed the increase in EFS financing allocations for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) but questioned whether the additional funds could be effectively utilised.
uncertain
funds → welcome → enterprises
He said an additional Rs300bn allocation for SMEs would require export performance of Rs600bn, which, according to him, did not currently exist.
uncertain
which → say → him
He pointed out that the Rs100bn allocation for SMEs in the previous fiscal year had lapsed without being utilised.
asserted
allocation → point → year
He urged the government to review the distribution of EFS financing according to the export contribution of each segment, arguing that the top 100 exporters accounted for up to 60pc of total export volume and should receive proportionate financing.
uncertain
exporters → urge → financing
To strengthen the textile supply chain, Mr Mukhtar proposed a targeted financing package of Rs140bn for modernisation and technological upgrading of four major segments.
asserted
Mukhtar → strengthen → segments
The proposed package includes Rs20bn each for ginning and sizing, and Rs50bn each for weaving and processing.
asserted
package → propose → weaving
He said these sectors required specially designed short- and long-term financing facilities for balancing, modernisation and replacement of machinery, improving productivity and introducing automation and sustainable production practices.
asserted
sectors → say → automation
Mr Mukhtar said the federal government and the State Bank should jointly develop the proposed financing programme in consultation with industry representatives.
asserted
government → say → representatives
He also called for a 10-year strategic plan for textile exports, focusing on Pakistan’s existing industrial expertise, exportable surplus and structural reforms needed to improve international competitiveness.
asserted
He → call → competitiveness
The current situation demands a proactive approach,” he said, warning that timely intervention would cost considerably less than efforts to recover lost export markets.
asserted
intervention → demand → markets
The Aporia
