Pakistan's Textile Sector: Competitive Pressures and Patterns of Relative Efficiency

Abstract

The textile industry in Pakistan is one of great significance for its contribution to employment and exports. The production of cotton textiles predominates, despite the existence of a large jute industry, and increasingly important carpet industry and synthetic textiles. Although the share of textiles in manufacturing value added fell from 32.4 percent in 1977 to around 15 percent in recent years, the industry still employs 28 percent of the total labor force and accounts for around 60 percent of the country's total exports (United Nations 1990, p. 53). Capital investment in the sector accounts for around 28 percent of total national investment (and 37 percent of foreign currency investment in 1991).