A Comparative Analysis of the Garments Sector of Pakistan

Abstract

The objective of this report is to identify the main reasons for the relative stagnation and lack of competitiveness of Pakistan’s garments sector. This is done by analyzing both secondary and primary sources of information on the garments sector. The secondary analysis, conducted in Chapter 2, employs a macro level framework using disaggregated trade statistics to show the performance and relative positioning of Pakistan’s garment exports in comparison to Turkey and Bangladesh. This chapter also provides a survey of literature on the three countries comparing and contrasting differences in policies and their varied outcomes. The primary analysis is done on a survey data of 234 garment firms across the major garment clusters in the country. The survey has been done exclusively for this particular study. The analysis of this data is subsequently carried out using two different methodologies. The first methodology is the Structure, Conduct and Performance approach (SCP) while the second is the Global Value Chain framework (GVC). These two methodologies are discussed in Chapter 3 of this report. The data description is given using the SCP approach in Chapter 4. In the final chapter the GVC approach is used to identify and explain the positioning of the Pakistan garments manufacturers. The micro-firm level analysis is thus done to corroborate and substantiate the macro level findings in the study.