According to research Apparel factory in pakistan is exporting a large portion of its sports goods from Sialkot to international famous brands like Adidas, Nike, Puma, Lotto, Umbro, Mitre, Micassa, Diadora, Wilson and Decathlon. They also recorded that in the country no doubt sports goods industry plays a vital role in foreign trade of sports goods. Now, this industry is exporting its products to dissimilar estates globally. These products are manufactured to export according to requirements of foreign targeted markets.
Experts also recorded that sports goods producers in Sialkot are predominantly small and medium sized firms comprising over 360 formal and over 10,000 informal units. The main sports goods produced can be divided into 5 categories that include articles and equipment for physical exercise/gymnastics/athletics, articles and equipment for fishing, sports gloves, articles and accessories for billiards also articles for funfair. Among these, articles for gymnastics/athletics and articles for funfair have been the key drivers of the sports sector’s growth in global market.
Furthermore, Pakistan is considered a leading manufacturer of football, cricket balls, hockey sticks and cricket bats. Around the world sports factory in pakistan enjoy market recognition. Statistics showed that this industry has therefore been an integral part of Pakistan’s economy offering employment to 300,000 to 350,000 skilled and unskilled laborers. In addition to this, the sector also represents roughly 1.42 percent of Pakistan’s total export base. In spite of the current and potential significance of this sector to Pakistan’s economy, it remains mired in difficulties because of limited opportunities for growth. For instance, most of the firms in Sialkot fall under the commercial exporters’ category which have minimal staff and resultantly operate with a very short term orientation, facing high failure rates.
Statistics also revealed that previously Pakistan’s global exports rose more than 100 percent from US$7.5 billion in 1999 to US$18 billion during 2009. This is evident in the stark differences between the average market share of exporting goods of China and Pakistan. However, a greater cause for concern is that in present years, not only has Pakistan’s share of sports goods exports fell, the sector has also registered the highest negative annual growth of exports relative to its competitors.
In addition to this, the present energy crises have adversely affected the sector’s competitiveness and have been a serious impediment to its overall growth. Therefore this industry has failed to perform to its capacity and hence faces a fall in its share of sports goods exports. Although Pakistan’s sporting goods have enjoyed a good reputation globally, the industry has failed to convert this into a sustainable and growing share in the global market, with Pakistan accounting for less than 1 percent of the total globally sale of sporting goods.
