President of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, Chairman of the National Business Group Pakistan, Chairman of the FPCCI Policy Advisory Board, and former Provincial IT Minister, Mian Zahid Hussain, while commenting on the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, welcomed the improvement in large-scale manufacturing (LSM) recorded in July 2026, describing it as an encouraging sign for industrial activity. He noted that the Quantum Index of Manufacturing reached 119.13 in July 2026, compared with 115.62 in July 2025 and 108.78 in June 2026. Consequently, the index increased by 3.03 percent year-on-year and 9.51 percent month-on-month. He said that the improvement in July is encouraging, particularly because LSM had contracted by 3.48 percent year-on-year in June 2026, while overall LSM growth during FY2025-26 remained at 4.98 percent.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that in July 2026, several major manufacturing groups recorded strong growth, including automobiles at 57.01 percent, transport equipment at 40.22 percent, tobacco at 35.82 percent, garments at 22.03 percent, fabricated metals at 13.55 percent, furniture at 10.10 percent, and electrical equipment at 7.88 percent. Non-metallic mineral products grew by 4.25 percent, while petroleum products increased by 1.34 percent. He said that garments alone contributed 3.87 percentage points to overall LSM growth.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that despite positive results in a few sectors, the situation remains worrying in several sectors critical to employment, exports, and domestic industrial supply chains. Overall, textile production declined by 3.09 percent, pharmaceuticals by 20.79 percent, and iron and steel products by 11.40 percent. Food production fell by 6.39 percent, beverages by 8.77 percent, chemicals by 6.19 percent, paper and board by 4.26 percent, and machinery and equipment by 13.33 percent. The decline in pharmaceuticals alone wiped out 1.24 percentage points from overall LSM growth, while textiles, chemicals and steel together reduced the index by around 1.5 percentage points. He stressed that the deteriorating conditions in the textile sector require immediate government attention, as textiles carry the largest weight of 18.16 percent in the LSM index and remain the backbone of Pakistan’s export economy. While garments recorded strong growth and cotton yarn increased marginally by 2.73 percent, industry stakeholders claim that misuse of the Export Facilitation Scheme has contributed to a noticeable decline in domestic cotton cloth (fabric) production, keeping overall textile output in negative territory. He said these figures indicate that different parts of the value chain are moving in opposite directions.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that micro-level data also point towards industrial weakness, affecting both ordinary consumers and domestic manufacturers. In July 2026, year-on-year production of cooking oil declined by around 19.22 percent, while vegetable ghee production fell by 11.81 percent. In pharmaceuticals, production of liquids and syrups declined by 25.25 percent, injections by 45.45 percent, and capsules by 61.91 percent. Similarly, production of steel billets and ingots fell by 32 percent, indicating that the overall industrial increase in July was concentrated in a limited number of industrial sectors rather than being spread evenly across the manufacturing base.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the government should avoid adopting a ‘One-size-fits-All’ industrial policy and instead pursue a targeted sector-wise promotional strategy. Textile exporters should have reliable electricity and gas at competitive rates, access to raw materials, faster refunds, and easier access to working capital. The pharmaceutical industry requires continuous availability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and other imported inputs, while the steel sector needs immediate measures to address energy, financing and raw-material constraints. He said that the 9.51 percent month-on-month improvement in July compared with June is certainly a positive signal, but one month of improvement cannot be considered evidence of a sustainable industrial recovery. The government should identify the actual bottlenecks through sector-specific data and adopt targeted corrective measures. Sustainable industrial growth will only be possible when recovery extends beyond a few industries and reaches the country’s major export-oriented and employment-generating sectors.