KARACHI: India has lost 37 textile markets in the European Union (EU) over the last two years due to the inclusion of Pakistan in the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus.
The European Union (EU) instituted the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status to improve the status of human rights and good governance within the countries.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan’s textile exports to the European Union have seen 21.3 percent raise during financial year 2015 as compared to the same period during financial year 2013.
On the other hand, the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) states that overall imports of the country during the first three quarters of the current fiscal decreased by 4.22 percent as compared to the corresponding period of the last year.
On the other hand, exports to the EU of textile garments grew by 31 percent, homemade textile exports by 33 percent and cotton exports by 4.43 percent during the last two years while the footwear witnesses a raise of 12 percent, carpet and rug exports 17.35 percent while leather export to EU has also been recorded an increase from 2013 to 2015.
Imports into the country during July-March (2015-16) were recorded at $32.515 billion compared to the imports of $33.948 billion during July-March (2014-15).