ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the economic survey for the fiscal year 2023 at a press conference in Islamabad on Thursday, which notably showed that the country’s industrial sector contracted by around three per cent.
Before presenting his government’s economic performance for the year, the minister went on a diatribe explaining the difficult condition in which the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) had inherited the economy.
Growth
According to documents shared by the minister, Pakistan achieved Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 0.29pc for the outgoing fiscal year, missing the target of 5pc by a wide margin.
This paltry growth came on the back of 1.55pc, -2.94pc, and 0.86pc growth in the Agriculture, Industry, and Services sectors respectively, all three missing their targets comprehensively.
Most notable was the 2.94pc contraction in the industrial sector, against a target of 7.1pc growth.
Inflation
According to documents shared by the minister, Pakistan registered inflation of 28.2pc in the nine-month period from July 2022 to March 2023, against 11pc in the same period last year.
The government had targeted inflation at 11.5pc for FY2023, missing its target significantly because of a sharp depreciation of the rupee and global supply shocks resulting in pricey imports.
According to the economic survey, inflation at 28.2pc was the highest recorded yet with the previous high at 17pc in FY 2008-09.
Current account
The current account balance improved by 74.1pc, recording a deficit of $3.4bn during Jul-Mar FY2023, against a deficit of $13bn in the year-ago period.
This led to the current account deficit shrinking to 1pc of the GDP, compared to 4.7pc during the same period last year.
“The predominant factor behind this improvement was the 29.7pc decrease in the merchandise trade deficit on the back of substantial decline in import payments to $41.5 billion in Jul-Mar FY2023 from $ 52.7 billion last year,” the document notes.
Key takeaways
- Real GDP posted a growth of 0.29% in FY23.
- GDP at current market prices stood at Rs84,657.9 billion in FY23, showing a growth of 27.1% over last year (Rs66,623.6 billion).
- Per capita income stood at $1,568 as compared to $1,765 last year.
- Investment to GDP ratio stood at 13.6% in FY23 compared to 15.6% in FY22.
- Growth of agriculture sector estimated at 1.55% in FY23.
- The industrial sector posted a negative growth of 2.94% in FY23.
Comments are closed.