The National Accounts Committee (NAC) is scheduled to meet on Thursday (today) to approve the 2nd quarter (Q2) Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates for the current financial year 2023-24.
Sources told ProPakistani that the Secretary Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives (M/o PD&SI) would chair the NAC meeting where data compiled by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) for the Q2 (October-December) for the financial year 2023-24 would be presented.
Finance Ministry in its ‘Economic Monthly Update & Outlook February 2024’ estimates Q2 fiscal year 2023-24 GDP growth to rise to around 3 percent claiming stronger manufacturing output and higher production of crops including cotton, which has increased by 75 percent to 8.35 million bales.
According to the NAC meeting held on November 28, 2023, GDP growth accelerated to 2.1 percent in Q1 fiscal year 2023-24, after two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The growth was broad-based with the agriculture sector posting 5 percent growth and manufacturing activity registering 2.5 percent growth.
Finance Ministry stated that data from Q2 fiscal year 2023-24 is showing stronger performance of the manufacturing sector, with large-scale manufacturing posting an 8.2 percent increase over Q1.
The Ministry expects Q2 fiscal year 2023-24 GDP growth to rise to around 3 percent on stronger manufacturing output and higher production of crops including cotton, which has increased by 75 percent to 8.35 million bales.
The Large Scale Manufacturing (LSM) sector showcased an increase of 3.4 percent on YoY basis in December 2023, compared to a 1.1 percent decline
. On an MoM basis, it increased by 15.7 percent in December, against an increase of 3.6 percent in November. Overall, a decline of 0.4 percent was recorded during the December fiscal year 2023-24, compared to a contraction of 2.1 percent in the same period last year.
During July-December, fiscal year 2023-24, 12 out of 22 sectors witnessed positive growth.
According to the Finance Ministry, the agriculture sector is experiencing stronger growth as compared to last year. The robust performance in this sector reflects a better situation of food security and employment during the ongoing fiscal year.
For the Rabi season 2023-24, the timely sowing of wheat aligns with the goal of reaching a production target of 32.12 million tonnes, with expectations for further increase in other crop production due to favorable climatic conditions.
The farm tractor production and sales registered an increase of 76.7 percent and 82.5 percent during July-January fiscal year 2023-24, respectively, compared to the same period last year. A mixed trend witnessed in fertilizer usage, urea off-take dropped by 6.7 percent during October-January whereas DAP off-take rose by 14.5 percent during the same period.
