Weak woven fabric demand prompts Pakistan’s textile firm to cut loom operations

Ashfaq Textile Mills Ltd, a Punjab-based textile firm, has decided to suspend operations of 85 Sulzer looms at its Faisalabad facility amid weak demand for woven fabrics.

The listed company shared the development in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.

“The Board of Directors of Ashfaq Textile Mills Ltd, in its meeting held on December 11, 2025, has resolved that due to unfavourable market conditions, the company has decided to suspend operation of 85 Sulzer looms out of the total capacity of 243 Sulzer looms installed in our production facility situated at 18th km, Faisalabad Jaranwala Road, Faisalabad.

“This reduction in production capacity would help in the reduction of forced sales of fabrics, as the demand for woven fabrics has drastically gone down. Furthermore, various strategic alternatives are being evaluated,” read the notice.

Incorporated in Pakistan on January 14, 198,8 as a private limited company and subsequently converted into a public limited company, Ashfaq Textile Limited is engaged in the manufacturing and sale of textiles and rendering of sizing and conversion services.

Pakistan’s textile firm temporarily shuts spinning unit amid ‘unfavourable market conditions’

The development comes at a time when the country’s textile sector, which remains Pakistan’s largest generator of export receipts, is facing a downturn.

According to the figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the textile sector declined by 0.15% during July-August FY26, compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Days ago, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) leader and Patron-in-Chief UBG S. M. Tanveer lamented that the textile sector in Pakistan is collapsing fast due to the highest interest rates and tax rates among regional competitors. Both of these factors are killing the industry, he warned.

Tanveer said that Pakistan has a double advance tax on exporters. They are forced to pay 2% of turnover in advance tax, double what domestic businesses pay, he added.