Tuesday marks the release of the Economic Survey for the financial year 2023-24, shedding light on the successes and failures in meeting key economic targets.
The survey reveals a mixed bag of results, with several important economic goals remaining unfulfilled during the ongoing fiscal year. Economic growth fell short of the target, standing at 2.38% compared to the projected 3.5%. Additionally, average inflation exceeded government estimates of 21%, reaching 23.2%.
Despite these challenges, the survey highlights notable achievements in various sectors, such as per capita income, remittances, exports, and tax revenue. The agriculture sector performed well, surpassing the target of 3.4% to a growth rate of 4%, particularly in staple crop production, which recorded a significant improvement of 16.8% as opposed to the target of 3%. Major crops such as wheat, rice, and corn saw impressive increases in production.
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However, the industrial sector struggled to meet targets, with industrial growth at only 1.2% against the targeted 3.4%. Manufacturing also fell short, achieving 2.4% compared to the 4.3% target. Similarly, the performance of major industries was 0.1% against the target of 3.2%, while the services sector saw modest growth of 1.2%, below the targeted 3.6%.
Despite these setbacks, certain industries, such as real estate, education, health, housing, and food showed better performance. On the other hand, the targets of electricity, gas, wholesale, retail, transport sectors, financial, insurance, communication, national savings were not met.
On the external front, the trade deficit remained a concern, with imports exceeding exports by a significant margin.
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Remittances and exports remained below their annual targets, while imports exceeded expectations, contributing to a widening trade deficit. The annual remittances target was $30.53 billion, which remained at $27 billion in the 11 months of the ongoing fiscal year. Annual exports remained at $28 billion in 11 months, against the target of $30 billion.
Furthermore, the current account deficit reached $202 million in 10 months against the annual target of $6 billion, indicating ongoing challenges in maintaining a balanced external account. The imports failed to achieve the target of $58.69 billion and remained $49.80 billion.
Overall, the Economic Survey provides a comprehensive overview of the economic landscape, highlighting both achievements and areas needing improvement as the government navigates through economic challenges in the upcoming fiscal year.
