Latest data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) for the first nine months of FY25–26 (9MFY26) reveals a complex landscape for the nation's textile and apparel sector. While total textile commodities contributed approximately US $13.54 billion to the national exchequer, the sector faced a sharp 7.27 per cent Y-o-Y decline in total merchandise exports. This downward trajectory was particularly evident in February 2026, where textile shipments plummeted by 25.43 per cent sequentially to US$1.3 billion. While the knitwear and ready-made garment (RMG) segments demonstrated marginal resilience earlier in the cycle - with RMG exports reaching US$2.58 billion in the July–January window - this growth has been insufficient to offset the significant erosion in broader textile volumes.
Energy disparity and competitive erosion
The primary bottleneck remains a widening regional energy cost gap that has compromised the pricing power of Pakistani spinning and weaving units. Industrial electricity tariffs in Pakistan currently hover around 13 cents per kWh, nearly double the 5 to 9 cents per kWh range enjoyed by regional competitors in India and Vietnam. This cost burden, exacerbated by a US $1.3 billion cross-subsidy mechanism, has rendered many mid-scale manufacturing operations financially unviable. The industrial base is being pushed toward an irreparable decline because these cross-subsidies act as a hidden tax that cannot be exported, stated a representative from the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA). Consequently, while cotton yarn exports saw a temporary 43.6 per cent spike in February due to low-base effects, the overall sector impact remains constrained by high interest rates and global logistics volatility.
Gul Ahmed Textile Mills is a prominent vertically integrated textile firm based in Karachi, specializing in composite textile manufacturing from yarn to finished retail products. Serving major EU and US markets with home textiles and apparel, the company is currently modernizing its processing units to enhance energy efficiency. Despite regional volatility, Gul Ahmed maintains a steady financial outlook by expanding its domestic "Ideas" retail footprint while navigating a challenging 9MFY26 export environment.
