Economic Survey 2016-17: Growth trots on as deficits soar
• Economy surges past $300bn for first time: Dar • Current account deficit triples • Services boom, Agriculture recovers, Industry struggles
ISLAMABAD: After a decade-long slump, Pakistan’s economy surged past the $300 billion mark in the outgoing fiscal year, claimed the finance minister while unveiling the Economic Survey for the outgoing fiscal year. The economy grew at a rate of almost 5.3 per cent, the highest in a decade, with robust support from the services sector.
A low point of the year was a struggling industrial sector where almost all targets were missed in its various subsectors, while agriculture blossomed following a slump last year. Its growth rate came in at 3.46pc, narrowly missing its target.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who launched the Economic Survey 2016-17 at a news conference, flagged falling exports as a point of concern but was upbeat that overall performance of the economy was positive enough to steer the country among the top 20 economies by 2030.
The minister became visibly flustered when questions were put to him about the slippages on the economic growth target of 5.7pc and its various sectors. “Let’s not obsess over targets,” he insisted, arguing these were set mostly to challenge his team to work harder and perform. Instead, he claimed the economy was now poised for a take-off after years of hard work.
He also bristled at criticism over his economic performance, saying negative portrayals of the economy in the press was sending confusing signals abroad at a time when all foreign institutions and investors saw Pakistan among G-20 by 2030 and among top 15 by 2050.
“For God’s sake have mercy, this is everybody’s Pakistan,” he shot back at one point, visibly vexed by questions pointing towards the weaknesses in his track record, and reiterated the call to decouple the economy from politics and set a common national economic framework that should be followed by all parties regardless of who is in power.
“You guarantee me I will be the next finance minister and I will guarantee we will not go back to the IMF programme,” he said when a reporter asked whether he could guarantee Pakistan will not return to the IMF in 2019.
Mr Dar said it was rather a matter for celebration that the country’s growth rate had broken the 3-4pc barrier after a long time and was now moving towards 6pc growth trajectory. At the same time he explained that the size of Pakistan’s economy was understated to the extent of 20pc according international institutions like the World Bank which had been given a contract to re-assess the GDP in 8-12 months.
Shift in economy