Ishaq Dar presents Economic Survey
Says the industrial growth has been recorded at 5.84% as against 1.37% last year.
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) - Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has presented the Economic Survey 2013-14.
The Economic Survey, a pre-budget document released in Islamabad on Monday, says the country provisionally achieved 4.14% GDP growth rate during the outgoing financial year.
Launching the Survey for 2013-14 at a news conference, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said this is less than the targeted 4.14% but it is for the first time in six years that the country has entered the territory of four per cent growth this year.
He said the GDP growth rate would be increased one per cent each during the next three years taking it to 7% in 2017.
The Minister said the industrial growth has been recorded at 5.84% as against 1.37% last year.
Large-scale manufacturing recorded growth of 5.135% as against 4.08% last year. He said electricity generation and gas distribution growth last year was minus 16.33% and this year it has grown by 3.72%.
Construction recorded growth of 11.31 per cent this year as against minus 1.685 per cent last year. Wholesale and retail trade increased by 5.181 per cent as against 3.38 per cent last year. Transport and communication recorded growth of 2.89 per cent as against 2.88 per cent last year.
Agriculture sector showed growth of 2.12% as against 2.88% last year. Major crops showed growth of 3.74 percent as compared to 1.19% last year. Wheat production this year is 25.29 million tonnes as compared 24.21 million tonnes last year.
Rice production this year stood at 6.8 million tonnes as against 5.54 million tonnes; sugarcane 66.47 million tonnes as compared to 63.75 million tonnes last year and maize production this year is 4.531 million ronnes as against 4.22 million tonnes last year.
Provisional estimates of cotton production this year are 12.77 million bales as against 13.03 million bales last year. Similarly, grams and oil seeds recorded minus growth of 3.52%.
The minister said inflation in the first eleven months of the current financial year was 8.6% as against 7.5% last year.
Exports in ten months of the outgoing financial year stood at 21 billion dollar as against 20.1 billion dollars last month, showing an increase of 900 million dollar. Ishaq Dar said grant of GSP Plus concession by the European Union has started impacting our textile sector positively as it grew by 7% in value terms.
The survey says imports in ten months of this financial year stood at 37.1 billion dollar as against 36.7 billion dollar last year, indicating 1.2% increase. The Minister said there was significant increase in import of plant and machinery which is a positive indication.
Workers remittances in ten months of current financial year reached 12.9 billion dollar as against 11.6 billion dollar last year, showing a growth of 11.5%.
Foreign investment this year stood at 2.979 billion dollar as against 1.277 billion dollar last year.
Foreign exchange reserves presently stood at 13.63 billion dollar as against 11.4 billion dollar last year.
Per capita income this year has increased to 1386 dollar from 1339 dollar last year. Stock market crossed 29700 points and its capitalization increased by about 38%.
Tax revenue as percentage of GDP this year is 7% as against 6.8% last year. Non-tax revenue as percentage of GDP remains at 2.7% while total expenditure as percentage of GDP reduced to 12.9% from 14.8% last year.
Development expenditure this year as percentage of GDP was 2.2% as against 2% last year.
Fiscal deficit in first ten months was 3.2% as compared to 4.7% last year. The minister said FBR tax collections in 11 months grew by 16.4%.
Ishaq Dar said State Bank of Pakistanborrowing last year was 416.8 billion rupees but this year the government paid back 10.5 billion rupees to the bank.
