According to the Advance Release on external trade statistics issued by the Federal Bureau of Statistics, during the period July- September 2003 textile manufactures accounted for 66.65 per cent of total exports ($2967.63 million) as against 65.50 per cent of the corresponding period of previous year.

Textile manufactures during the period under review stood at $1,977.99 million, a growth of 16.65 per cent over the first quarter of 2002-03.

Highlighting their preponderance in the exports economy, textile
manufactures constituted 72.38pc of the exports of manufactured goods ($2732.51 million), further up from the corresponding period of previous year.

The intermediary goods - cotton yarn and cotton cloth - constituted a little over 30pc of textile manufactures. Their aggregate exports
amounted to $593.72 million. In spite of 5.77pc increase over the
corresponding period, however, the group shows over 3pc decline as a fraction of textile manufactures.

According to the FBS figures, the unit price of almost all the goods in the textile manufactures category continued its upward trend. The only exception were the tents and canvases: While in quantity, their exports went up by 16.45pc, their value improved by only 8.40pc in dollars. But with exports totalling $14.74 million, their share in overall exports receipts is only minor.