Is the textile sector recovering?

Pakistan’s large-scale manufacturing (LSM) sector continued to face headwinds in first ten months of this fiscal year (July 2024–April 2025), contracting by 1.52 per cent year-on-year, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The decline reflects ongoing challenges in key industries such as food, chemicals, iron and steel. However, textile manufacturing — the largest component of LSM — registered a modest growth of 0.49pc in the same period. The improvement was driven by a 0.91pc rise in wearing apparel outputs, while cotton yarn and cloth production remained relatively subdued. This suggests a gradual but welcome shift towards value-added textile segments despite broader industrial sluggishness.