Pakistan shows record high growth of 5.97% in FY22, says Miftah Ismail

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 06 Jan 2023

ISLAMABAD: A day before announcing the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23, the coalition government reflected upon the performance of the economy for the outgoing fiscal year with a provisional growth of 5.97% against the envisaged target of 4.8%.

Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, who succeeded Shaukat Tarin as the country’s finance czar in mid-April (which interestingly is when the survey review period ends), is chairing the launch ceremony of the Economic Survey 2021-22.

The situation in Pakistan has remained the same whenever the country records growth it, unfortunately, gets into the crisis of current deficit,” Miftah said in a televised press conference.

“The same has happened this time as well, the recent 5.97% growth recorded during the outgoing fiscal year 2021-22, according to the new estimates, has pushed Pakistan towards the balance of payments and current account deficit crisis,” the finance minister lamented.

He further highlighted those imports have also increased by 48% as compared to the last fiscal year, while the exports also move up. He noted that the trade deficit stood at $45 billion.

Ismail said that years before, the exports were around half of the imports. However, the export-to-import ratio stands at 40:60 now, he said, adding that Pakistan could only finance 40% of its imports through exports and for the rest, it had to rely on remittances or loans — which makes the country stuck in a balance of payments.

The government achieved the most important economic target — GDP growth — and hence, it was less surprising that other goals were achieved as well.