At NED University launch of GPS 2027, industry and academia say carbon data, clean energy and AI skills will decide who keeps Europe’s orders.
LAHORE: Pakistan’s textile exporters, riding a modest recovery in shipments, must speed up investment in green supply chains, cleaner production and digital technology to hold on to buyers who are increasingly judging suppliers on their environmental record, industry and academic experts said on Wednesday.
Speaking at NED University of Engineering and Technology at the launch of the second Global Procurement & Supply Chain Summit (GPS 2027), participants named sustainability compliance, technological readiness and workforce skills as the priorities for strengthening exports. The summit, organised by Horizon Summit Management, will be held in Karachi on Jan 20, 2027.
Exports are growing again
The warning comes as the sector regains momentum. Textile and apparel exports rose 6.23% year on year to $1.721 billion in October and 5.47% to $6.75 billion in July-October, compared with $6.40 billion a year earlier, according to official figures.
Value-added lines are leading. Ready-made garment exports grew 15.69% to $1.223 billion in the July-September quarter, towels rose 10% and knitwear 4.14%, while cotton fabric shipments fell 5.34%.
For fiscal 2026, textile exports edged up to $17.93 billion while textile imports fell to $6.46 billion from $7.36 billion, improving the sector’s net foreign exchange contribution by about $930 million after reforms to the Export Facilitation Scheme, the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) said. APTMA chairman Asad Shafi says existing capacity could deliver an extra $3 billion in exports this year and $10 billion within two to three years if energy, finance and taxes become regionally competitive.
Sustainability pressures and global market compliance
Hafiz Kashif, a director at Karachi denim maker Artistic Milliners, said global buyers, particularly those serving Europe and other environmentally conscious markets, were increasingly assessing suppliers’ carbon footprints, energy efficiency, water conservation and responsible sourcing.
He said cutting emissions and adopting sustainable procurement were becoming necessary to keep access to international markets, with cleaner technology, renewable energy and recognised sustainability standards growing in importance for long-term competitiveness.
Participants acknowledged that smaller manufacturers and suppliers were struggling to meet evolving compliance requirements while absorbing rising production costs.
Europe’s rulebook is changing
The pressure is most acute in Europe, Pakistan’s largest market. The European Union bought about $7.1 billion of Pakistani textiles and apparel in fiscal 2026, and textiles made up 77.7% of EU imports from Pakistan in 2025, most of them entering duty-free under the GSP+ scheme.
Several changes are converging. New EU GSP regulations take effect on Jan 1, 2027, and the European Commission plans textile-specific ecodesign rules and a Digital Product Passport, a scannable record of a garment’s materials, origin and environmental data, with requirements expected in late 2027. Textiles are not yet covered by the EU’s carbon border tax, but Brussels has flagged them as a candidate for its next phase.
A Ministry of Commerce official told Wealth Pakistan in September that large exporters had already invested in product tracking and sustainability systems ahead of the deadlines, while small and medium-sized firms faced bigger financial and technical hurdles.
Skills for an automated mill
Dr Majida Kazmi, a professor at NED University, vice chairperson of the Institution of Engineers Pakistan’s Karachi Centre and director of its STEM Centre, said exporters needed practical capability in artificial intelligence, automation and digital technology across operations, procurement and supply chains.
She said closer collaboration between universities and businesses was needed to align teaching with industry needs, and that an interdisciplinary approach to science, technology, engineering and mathematics would help students build analytical thinking, adaptability and problem-solving skills.
Participants agreed that export competitiveness would increasingly depend on resilient supply chains and skilled workers as much as on manufacturing capacity and price.
Policy backing at home
Provincial governments are moving in the same direction. Punjab’s PIVOT plan targets $6.8 billion in exports and 162,000 jobs by 2029, and the province is planning battery-backed solar pilots for three industrial zones, the kind of cleaner power European buyers are asking for. It is also drafting a climate law with the UNDP.
Energy cost remains the sticking point. APTMA wants industrial electricity at 7 US cents per kilowatt-hour, gas at $7 per mmBtu and financing at 7%, arguing that green upgrades are hard to fund when power and credit cost more than in competing countries.
The road to GPS 2027
Horizon Summit Management chief executive Syed Faisal Ali thanked participants and credited the media with highlighting Pakistan’s industrial capabilities. The first edition, held in Karachi in January 2026, focused on how European regulation was reshaping procurement in the textile sector.
The 2027 summit will bring together industry leaders, procurement specialists, technology experts, policymakers and academics to discuss sustainable sourcing, industrial automation, AI adoption and opportunities across the textile and apparel value chain. Representatives of the textile, IT, engineering, procurement and supply chain sectors attended Wednesday’s launch.
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