ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has started enjoying fruits of duty-free access to European markets as textile exports grew almost 31 percent in the first two months after the trade preference scheme came into force, according to official statistics released here yesterday.
“Exports from Pakistan to the European Union in the first two months (January-February) of implementation of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Plus have recorded a substantial increase over the comparative period of previous year,” said the Ministry of Commerce.
According to sector-wise analysis, exports of textile garments grew significantly by 30.68 percent against last year’s shipments in January and February.
Total sales of textile garments to the EU in the two months last year stood at $342m, which grew to $446.91m this year, recording an increase of $105m or 30.7 percent, said the ministry.
From January this year, the EU granted duty-free access to Pakistan for a period of 10 years, but its continuation is subject to periodical reviews that will determine whether Pakistan is making progress on over two dozen conventions of the UN pertaining to human, labour and gender rights and freedom of expression.
According to estimates, the GSP Plus will result in almost 20 percent of Pakistan’s exports entering the EU market at zero tariff and 70 percent at preferential tariff rates. This status will enable exporters to boost overseas sales by more than $1bn.
Only the textile industry would earn profits of more than Rs1tr per year.
Internews
