Pakistan’s GDP up 2.09 per cent, driven by agriculture sector

WEB DESK: Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 2.09 per cent in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024 (Q3 FY24), up from a revised growth rate of 1.79 per cent in the previous quarter, according to estimates released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The revised data for the first quarter (Q1) also shows an upward revision to 2.71 per cent from the initially reported 2.50 per cent, presented at the 108th meeting of the National Accounts Committee (NAC).

In the first nine months of FY24, the economy has cumulatively grown by 2.38 per cent. These figures were approved during the 109th NAC meeting held on the same day.

The agriculture sector recorded a significant growth of 3.94 per cent in Q3. This was driven by positive contributions across various sub-sectors: important crops increased by 2.89 per cent primarily due to wheat, other crops grew by 1.14 per cent, cotton ginning surged by 61.75 per cent, and livestock expanded by 4.20 per cent.

Despite a 15.75 per cent decline in the construction sector, the industrial sector overall grew by 3.84 per cent. This growth was supported by increases in mining and quarrying (0.63 per cent), large-scale manufacturing (1.47 per cent), and electricity, gas, and water supply (37.3 per cent).

The services sector experienced modest growth of 0.83 per cent in Q3. The sector showed mixed trends: wholesale and retail trade grew by 0.38 per cent, transport and storage increased by 0.91 per cent, but there were declines in information and communication (-5.92 per cent), finance and insurance activities (-7.11 per cent), and public administration and social security (-6.38 per cent).

However, education saw a significant growth of 10.38 per cent.

The NAC also approved the provisional GDP growth rate of 2.38 per cent for the ongoing fiscal year 2023-24. The agriculture sector is projected to grow by 6.25 per cent, while both the industrial and services sectors are expected to grow by 1.21 per cent.

These figures reflect the continued resilience and varied performance across different sectors of Pakistan’s economy, amidst ongoing challenges and global economic uncertainties.

Read next: PKR loses 9.5 paisa against US dollar