Economic Survey 2023-24 shows improvement in agriculture sector

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled the Economic Survey 2023-24 on Tuesday, which revealed that Pakistan failed to meet its economic goals.

However, the survey showed a significant improvement in the agriculture sector’s performance.

The Pakistan Economic Survey is an annual report that charts the country’s economic progress for the outgoing financial year, ie, from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

This is also one of the stages of the federal budget process that the public is exposed to.

The survey was presented in a press briefing held in Islamabad where Minister for State Ali Pervaiz and secretaries of finance and planning were also present.

“In FY22-23, our GDP contracted by 0.2%, while PKR depreciated by 29%, and our foreign exchange reserve went down to two weeks of import cover,” he said.

“Even when I was there in the private sector, I was loud and clear that we should enter a programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). There was no ‘Plan B’.

He said that if they had failed to achieve SBA in nine months, then Pakistan would have been in a very different situation.

The survey comprehensively covered the country’s economic situation, besides giving a detailed picture of growth and investment, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, fiscal development, money and credit, capital markets, inflation, debt and liabilities.

It highlighted the performance of different sectors including agriculture, education, health and nutrition sectors, besides showing the overall population, labour force and employment, poverty, transport and communications, and per capita income.

It highlighted the main features of policies undertaken by the government that focused on bringing the macro-economic stability and putting the economy on growth trajectory.