By Qudsia Bano
Pakistan exports 2025 showed a mix of gains and losses across key sectors between July and October. Newly released figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics reveal that while some industries grew, others fell in both quantity and value compared with the same period last year.
Leather Exports Show Modest Gains
Leather exports saw modest improvements. The total value of leather products rose to 204,137 million rupees, though dollar earnings dipped slightly to 204,137 thousand dollars. Leather garments grew from 754 thousand dozen to 832 thousand dozen, pushing rupee receipts to 26,039 million.
Dollar earnings in this category barely changed, moving from 91,888 thousand to 92,177 thousand dollars. Leather gloves also improved, reaching 3,512 thousand dozen and 30,117 million rupees, compared with 3,287 thousand dozen and 30,172 million rupees last year.
Footwear Exports Deliver Mixed Results
Footwear exports painted a mixed picture. Overall quantities rose, thanks to a jump in “other footwear” from 2,969 thousand pairs to 4,381 thousand pairs.
This lifted rupee earnings to 3,991 million and dollar receipts to 14,141 thousand. However, exports of leather and canvas footwear fell in both volume and value.
Medical Instruments and Surgical Goods Continue Steady Growth
Medical instruments and surgical goods continued to grow steadily. Export value rose to 43,449 million rupees from 41,842 million, while dollar earnings inched up to 147,835 thousand from 147,830 thousand.
Industrial and Engineering Goods Face Declines
Some industrial goods suffered significant declines. Plastic materials dropped from 152,549 metric tons to 99,467 metric tons, lowering rupee earnings to 30,139 million and dollar receipts to 106,685 thousand.
Pharmaceutical exports also fell, from 33,031 metric tons to 29,367 metric tons, and dollar earnings decreased to 137,031 thousand from 155,443 thousand. Engineering goods showed mixed outcomes.
Electrical fan exports dropped slightly in quantity but rose in both rupee and dollar value. Meanwhile, transport equipment and other electrical machinery saw notable declines.
Cement and Other Products Help Boost Overall Exports
Cement exports showed strong growth, increasing from 2,857,679 metric tons to 3,440,737 metric tons. Rupee earnings went up to 29,053 million, and dollar receipts slightly rose to 104,619 thousand.
Smaller product categories also contributed to growth. Exports listed under “all other items” rose to 221,755 million rupees from 211,053 million, showing steady gains across a range of goods.
To sum up, Pakistan’s export basket recorded a moderate rise, with a 5.07 percent increase in rupee value and 3.52 percent growth in dollar earnings over July–October 2024.
While several major sectors faced pressure, gains in other areas helped boost overall export receipts during the first four months of the fiscal year.
Author Profile
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Qudsia Bano is a financial correspondent focused on Pakistan's fiscal health.
Her reporting, driven by SBP data, tracks the country's vital foreign exchange reserves. Bano’s work highlights the central bank's success in stabilizing reserves near the $19-20 billion range, underscoring its crucial effort to maintain exchange rate stability.
