Pakistan’s export of cotton products have decreased during the last three years. The reasons include inconsistency in yield of cotton crop, rising cost of business, shrinking global demand and decrease in cotton prices in the market. The country exported cotton products worth $11 billion during 2015-16. These comprise raw cotton, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, cotton carded or combed, knitwear, bed wear, towels, tents, canvas and tarpaulin and readymade garments.

Steps have been taken to enhance exports of cotton products. Electricity tariff has been reduced for industrial units in order to reduce the cost of doing business. The export sector is getting easy finance. Discount rate, which currently stands at six per cent has been reduced. The export finance rate currently at 3.5 per cent is the lowest in a decade especially for the textile sector.

Under the textile policy 2015-19, an amount of Rs 64.15 billion would be spent on the textile sector to double the exports of textiles and clothing from the existing 13 billion dollars to 26 billion dollars by the year 2019. Pakistan is the fourth largest producer of cotton in the world and holds the third largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India.