Pakistan Suppliers: A Buyer’s Guide on Manufacturing Clusters

Wondering about sourcing from Pakistan, as an addition to your supply chain?

Competitive product prices, plentiful raw material resources, faster production leads, and tax-free policies might convince you, even more, to look closer at Pakistan as a new sourcing option.

With a local presence in Pakistan, the V-Trust team prepared some insights on the manufacturing industry and top products exported from this country, to introduce the main production clusters and strengths of Pakistan suppliers.

Let’s begin!

Textiles Manufacturing Clusters in Pakistan

Textiles and the clothing industry are the pillars of Pakistan's manufacturing, making up 56% of total exports. Each stage of textile processing is wholly presented here, from harvesting cotton to ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, and finishing, making Pakistan the 8th largest exporter of textiles in Asia, and the 4th largest producer of cotton textiles in the world.

Pakistan has a supply base for almost all man-made and natural yarns and fabrics, including cotton, wool, rayon, jute, and others, and offers a great variety of garments & home textiles (bed linen & towels), etc. The abundance of raw materials is a great advantage for textile buyers, as Pakistan’s textile comes at a great cost with shorter lead times.

The majority of the textile manufacturers are located in Sindh and Punjab, especially north Punjab with centers in Sialkot and Faisalabad.

Garment Manufacturing Clusters in Pakistan

Sourcing garments from Pakistan is a great idea if you are looking for a partner in cut-make-trim (CMT) & original equipment manufacturing (OEM).

Garment manufacturing takes 23% of the export basket of Pakistan, and among its top exports are cotton-based menswear & womenswear, mostly shirts, trousers, shorts, and ensembles, as well as knitted non-cotton T-shirts, cardigans, jerseys, pullovers & socks. Many famous brands, like H&M, Target, Primark, etc. choosing Pakistan as their garment manufacturing base.

The industry is concentrated in the South (Karachi) and North (Lahore, Sialkot, and Faisalabad) - cities that have the most access to skilled labor. Each of them is specialized in specific products, ex. in Lahore – denim production, Faisalabad produces more knitwear, and Sialkot is more diversified, exporting sports and technical wear garments in both knitted and woven categories.

Leather Manufacturing Clusters in Pakistan

If you are looking to purchase leather, or leather goods, like garments, gloves, footwear, bags, or other products, Pakistan offers a big variety of designs and production capacities to you! Every 5^th pair of leather sports gloves and every 10^th piece of leather apparel in the world are made in Pakistan.

Leather is the second export industry here, after textiles, with over 800 big and small enterprises involved in tanning, and leather processing operations. Around 90% of leather products are made in the Korangi Industrial area of Karachi and Sialkot, as well as in Lahore, so remember to include these locations in a must-visit list of your next business trip.

Furniture Manufacturing Clusters in Pakistan

Pakistan is your sourcing destination if you are looking for creative hand-crafted furniture. There are over 700 small-scaled wooden furniture suppliers, that are operated manually with little use of technology for automated production. This gives you more creativity and personalization in terms of product design, however, such production would require longer lead times and a wider QC acceptance, as the quality of hand-made goods might vary from item to item.

Most furniture in Pakistan is produced in Punjab province’s Chinioti (80%) – around 40 km from Faisalabad, and Gujrat – both cities are famous for furniture production since the times of the British Empire. In terms of furniture exports, Karachi at South, Peshawar at the North-West, and Lahore at the East rank the top.

Sports Goods Manufacturing Clusters in Pakistan

Sourcing sporting goods? You can find a wide variety of them in Sialkot – a major cluster in Pakistan for the production of footballs, volleyballs, hockey sticks, bats, gloves, sportswear, and other sporting goods with over 3000 small and medium-sized enterprises involved in operations.

Sialkot produces 70% of hand-stitched footballs in the world. Major brands, like Nike, Adidas, Puma, Reebok have set production bases in this city, and Sialkot-made footballs made it to FIFA World Cup as official footballs in the game.

V-Trust Inspection Service in Pakistan

Pakistan plays a great role in the manufacturing world. And we support buyers by providing quality control services in this country, including pre-shipment inspection, during production inspection, production monitoring, container loading supervision.

Values We Deliver for Inspections and Audits in Pakistan

• Only full-time local inspectors and auditors, no part-time or freelance, reducing bribery risks.
• Management locally based in Pakistan
• Guaranteed all-inclusive price of 268 USD per man-day in Pakistan's manufacturing regions.
• No extra charge for travel expenses.
• No extra charge for inspections on weekends.
• Inspection report delivered within 24 hours after the inspection; Same day reports also available.

Contact us for more information about quality control or supplier evaluation in Pakistan.