Pakistan economy grows by mere 3.3 per cent in 2018-19 amid IMF bailout threat: Reports

The government has anticipated a 3.8 per cent growth rate in agriculture, 7.6 per cent in industry and 6.5 per cent in services, thus set up a target of 6.2 per cent GDP growth.
Pakistan PM Imran Khan (File | PTI)
Pakistan PM Imran Khan (File | PTI)

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's economy registered a dismal 3.3 per cent growth in 2018-19, achieving just over 50 per cent of its projected target, as all key sectors failed to perform in the first year of Prime Minister Imran Khan's government, according to media reports on Friday.

The poor show came as the cash-strapped Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government was negotiating a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to tide over the country's economic woes.

The National Accounts Committee, in its 101st meeting chaired by Secretary Planning, Development and Reform Zafar Hasan - to review the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - came out with the growth figures for the year 2018-19.

The government has anticipated 3.8 per cent growth rate in agriculture, 7.6 per cent in industry and 6.5 per cent in services, thus set up a target of 6.2 per cent GDP growth, the Dawn reported.

In a major setback to the government, all these targets fell flat, it said.

"It shows the dismal performance of the overall economy in the first year of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government," the report said.

"The provisional growth of GDP for the year 2018-19 has been estimated at 3.3 per cent. Growth of agricultural, industrial and services sectors is 0.85pc, 1.4pc and 4.7pc respectively," the report said quoting official figures.

Provisional estimates for the year 2018-19 for the GDP and the Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) have been presented on the basis of the latest data available for six to nine months.

As per the data, acute water shortages during the first half of 2018 hit the crop segment, as a result only wheat crop showed positive growth of 0.5 per cent while cotton, rice and sugarcane registered a negative growth of 17.5 per cent, 3.3 per cent, and 19.4 per cent, respectively, the report said.

The overall industrial sector, on the other hand, showed a growth of 1.4 per cent while the mining and quarrying sector declined by 1.96 per cent.

The large scale manufacturing (LSM) sector, which is driven primarily by QIM data (from July 2018 to February 2019), showed a contraction of 2.1 pc, it said.

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