In the spring of 2020, Pakistan's textile mills went quiet. Azgard9 temporarily suspended production on 1 April 2020 under the national COVID-19 measures, and resumed partial operations on 16 April. By July, as stores in Europe reopened, the question for every mill was how quickly demand would come back.
Sourcing Journal put that question to denim manufacturers in a Carved in Blue webinar moderated by Lenzing's Tricia Carey. Textiles, she noted, account for more than half of Pakistan's overseas shipments. With more than 200,000 confirmed cases, the country was in a "smart lockdown", but export industries were allowed to work under strict guidelines.
Azgard9 CEO Ahmed Humayun Shaikh said the company was seeing "a surge of orders", driven by "pent-up demand for garments, particularly from Europe". He was careful not to over- read it: "I don't think we can expect the pandemic to actually increase demand so it will settle down at some reduced rate once people get what they need." Other executives on the panel pointed to Pakistan's position as the fifth-largest cotton-growing country, with about 500 million metres of fabric capacity a year.
The measured view proved useful. Inside the plants, Azgard9 ran paid rest days, staff rotation, temperature checks and disinfection, and later reported 100 percent vaccination. Sales recovered quickly: in the first quarter of FY2021, they rose 24 percent on the year before.
Key facts
- Production paused1 April 2020; partial restart 16 April 2020
- CEO's view (July 2020)"a surge of orders", particularly from Europe
- Pakistan contexttextiles are more than half of exports; about 500 million metres of fabric capacity a year
- RecoveryQ1 FY2021 sales up 24% year on year
Steady planning through an uncertain year is part of being a reliable partner to global brands, in good markets and difficult ones.
