Pakistan's economic crisis is leading to an increased job cut and a sharp fall in production across industrial sectors in the country. Textile exports fell eight percent from July to January, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data. Textile exports remained at US $ 10.8 billion from July to January as opposed to last year’s US $ 10.93 billion.

Owing to this, nearly one million informal workers, mostly in the textile sector, are expected to lose their jobs, said Nasir Mansoor, Secretary General of the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) as reported by the News International.

"The 2022 floods washed away at least 45 percent of our cotton crop, leaving textile mills without an essential raw material. The other solution is to import raw material, but delays in LCs

Further at a joint news conference given by the textile associations in January 2023, officials of the associations said that since last summer, about seven million workers in the textile industry and industries allied to the textile industry had been laid off. Industry representatives also attributed the critical situation to government rules, notably slow LC opening times.

Earlier it was reported that in the past few months, a number of Pakistan's largest companies have halted operations due to raw materials shortages and currency shortages, compounding the troubles of the country's struggling economy.

Also read: Pakistan economic crisis | Suzuki, GSK among other big firms halt operations as raw material, demand dwindle

According to a report by Bloomberg, the local unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. extended the shutdown of its manufacturing plant to Feb. 2. The company said in a regulatory filing that the reason for the shutdown was constant shortage of parts.

Among those that have also shut or slowed operations are as per various media reports are GSK Plc’s Pakistan unit, Engro Fertilizers Limited, Fauji Fertilizer Bin Qasim Limited, Nishat Chunian Limited, Amreli Steels Limited, Millat Tractors Limited and Diamond Industries Limited.

In January there were news reports that major multinational companies have shut down their mobile manufacturing units in Pakistan due to shortage of dollars.

The economic crisis has also hit the healthcare sector now. As per various media reports patients in Pakistan have been struggling for essential medicines.

Pakistan's ability to acquire the necessary medications or the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) utilised in local production has been restricted by the shortage of foreign exchange reserves in the nation. The condition has become so worse that the operating rooms have less anaesthetics than the two-week supply required for critical procedures including heart, cancer, and kidney surgery. The situation may also lead to employment losses in Pakistani hospitals, adding to the misery of the populace.

Read this to know why Pakistan's economy is on the edge of collapse.