Rise of over 8% was noted in bedwear exports

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Pakistan’s exports of value-added textile products recorded positive growth during the first two months of 2017-18, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported. The upsurge in the value-added textile category has become the main driver of growth in the country’s overall exports, PBS data shows.

Exports of knitwear, another value-added product, posted a growth of 7.53pc to $439.26m in July-August. It recorded an increase of 8.23% in terms of quantity. A rise of over 8% was noted in bedwear exports that amounted to $384.32m. In terms of quantity, exports of bedwear recorded a growth of 8.79%. Gul Ahmed, Yunus Textile Mills, Sadaqat Limited, Nishat Mills, Nishat Chunian Mills, Mustaqim Dyeing & Printing and Liberty Textile Mills are among the major players in the bed sheet industry.

A large number of the European community use bed-linen supplied by Pakistan. It was in 2002 that nearly all of Pakistan’s manufactured goods, except yarns and fabrics in the textile sector and whole of the leather sector were granted full duty exemption by virtue of recognizing Pakistan as a drug combat country. In 2005, the South Asian economy was the largest supplier of bed-linen to the union. The European Union (EU) is Pakistan’s largest trading partner, with textiles and clothing (T&C) accounting for almost two thirds of its sales to the union.

Pakistan’s bedlinen exports have traditionally enjoyed entry into the EU market at EU/GSP preferential tariffs under general arrangements. However, the EU has also posed before it’s partner few challenges which are a stumbling block to the bed linen industry. One example was the imposition of a punitive import duty on Pakistani bed-linen in 2004. The country’s textile exporters were paying $100 million per annum on export of bedlinen to European Union markets in term of custom and anti-dumping duties in quota free regime.

Media reports even stated that the 13.1% anti-dumping and 12% custom duties were heavy burden on bed linen exports to EU markets. It is well known that the European Union is the principal market for m Pakistan’s bedlinen exports with a market size of over $500 million per annum and 100 million dollars are being paid against the WTO rules. The industry took the view that if the government does not take action in this regard, it will be difficult to achieve the set financial targets

In December 2013, the 28-nation bloc granted Pakistan the GSP Plus status for four years. The GSP Plus status allows 20 percent of Pakistani exports, including home textile, to enter the EU at zero duty and 70 percent at preferential rates

Meanwhile, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) had found that foreign sheet manufacturers were shorting consumers on thread counts. In response, the ITC issued a general exclusion order banning companies from importing sheets with inflated thread counts. The ITC found a “widespread pattern” of sheets made in India, Pakistan and China with “grossly inflated” thread counts. For example, its investigators found that some sheets labeled 800-thread count were just 250-thread count. Thread count is a measure of threads per square inch in a fabric, and higher thread counts have long been associated with softer sheets. But in recent years, manufacturers have slapped ever-higher thread count claims on their packaging in a sort of bedding arms race that defied believability.

However, a new class of entrepreneurs want you to know that linen thread count really doesn’t matter. To hear them tell it, the idea of equating a bedsheet’s thread count with quality is a marketing gimmick created by the Big Bedding Industry to charge higher prices for cheap, low-quality sheets. Today, a number of startups are aiming to capitalize on the e-bedding market gap. In many cases, the demand has been very high.

Further, exhibitors from the country have been participating at a large scale at international exhibitions to display their high quality and standard in bed linen. The Pakistan pavilion has been showcasing bedding products and bed sheets produced with 100 per cent combed and carded cotton or bamboo cotton. Pakistani companies
have also developed a reversible stitching technique for bed sheet sets that helps save water and electricity. This is a very welcome development in dealing with issues of power shortage and technological challenges.