By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s GDP growth surged to 3.07 percent year-on-year in Q4 FY2023-24, exceeding forecasts, with the National Accounts Committee (NAC) revising its full-year estimate to 2.52 percent from 2.38 percent on stronger agricultural and services growth.
The NAC, in its 110th meeting, on Monday, approved revised quarterly GDP growth rates for FY2023-24 and updated annual growth rates for FY2022-23 and FY2023-24.
Agriculture sector growth surged 6.76 percent in the fourth quarter, with crops posting a double-digit growth of 14.03 percent, mainly due to wheat production of 31.58 million tons. Livestock grew 3.98 percent, while forestry declined 0.35 percent due to a high-base effect of 15.12 percent.
The growth in important crops stands at 26.98 percent mainly due to wheat, and partly due to low base effect of corresponding quarter i.e. -7.93 percent during the fourth quarter of the financial year 2022-23.
Other crops, however, declined 1.53 percent due to a decline in fruits.
Industry sector growth contracted 3.59 percent due to declines in mining and quarrying (-5.32 percent), electricity, gas, and water supply (-35.57 percent), and construction (-0.47 percent). Large-scale manufacturing, however, grew 4.19 percent.
Services sector growth reached 3.69 percent, driven by wholesale and retail trade (4.79 percent), transportation and storage (2.11 percent), information and communication (7.95 percent), education (9.04 percent), human health and social work activities (5.86 percent), and other private services (3.38 percent). Finance and insurance, however, declined 2.55 percent, while public administration and social security declined 0.18 percent.
The NAC also approved the updated provisional GDP growth at 2.52 percent during the financial year 2023-24, higher than previous estimates of 2.38 percent. The updated growth rates in agriculture, industry, and services are 6.36 percent, -1.15 percent, and 2.15 percent, respectively.
For the financial year 2022-23, the revised growth estimate was -0.22 percent, slightly lower than the previous estimate of -0.21 percent. Agriculture grew 2.21 percent, industry declined 3.70 percent, and services declined 0.02 percent.
The NAC revised the first, second, and third quarter estimates of 2023-24. Overall GDP growth for the first quarter, second quarter, and third quarter stood at 2.69 percent, 1.97 percent, and 2.36 percent, respectively.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
