Sports goods exports rise by 24.48 pc in 5mfy22.

Byline: S. Kamal Hayder Kazmi

Experts mentioned in the Economic Survey of Pakistan that even prior to Covid-19 outbreak, globalization in trade, finance, investment and migration was facing a number of headwinds, stimulated through geopolitical tensions over trade between the United States (US) and China, "Brexit" vote for United Kingdom (UK) also rising polarization and social inequality. The pandemic has further exacerbated the prevailing trade relationships among nations. All the measures taken by the states to restrain the spread of virus like closure of borders, strict lockdowns and quarantines have distorted supply chains and weakened the demand of an interconnected economy. This has resulted in an overall decline in global output and trade during 2020.

Pakistan: Export Receipts By Sports Goods (Thousand US Dollar)

##Jul-Jun###Dec###Nov###Dec###Jul-Dec

Details

##FY20###FY21###FY21###FY22 R###FY22 P###FY21###FY22 P

Sports Goods###458,302###470,320 38,069###44,311###46,387###239,908###253,534

1. Footballs###183,013###157,664 12,555###15,902###16,540###89,521###87,611

2. Gloves###103,271###95,930###6,480###8,046###9,548###52,784###47,521

3. Others###172,018###216,726 19,035###20,362###20,298###97,604###118,402

From 2011 onward, researchers identified that oil prices increased, and this affected the balance of trade in Pakistan. Deterioration in terms of trade along with a surge in oil prices had a severe repercussion on the value of exports, particularly cotton and textiles in the country. Due to this, their value remains comparatively lower, although the number of export products has increased. According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2016-17, the reason behind the decline in our sports goods' exports were the non-favorable prices for our exports in the foreign market. Hence sports goods' such as our football declined during 2015-16. The main reason behind the decrease in our export of textile and sports goods during 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 was the overvaluation of the rupee against the dollar. Certain measures were taken by the government of Pakistan in 2017, like ensuring supply of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and lowering interest rates, positively impacted export of textiles, sports goods, and household products. These were expected to grow in 2018. But during the last quarter of 2019 and all of 2020, the export sector faced a severe brunt because of lockdowns globally. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the...