ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s economy accelerated in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, posting 3.89 per cent growth driven by a surge in industrial output, official data showed Thursday, offering a modest bright spot for a country that has struggled with sluggish expansion in recent years.
The National Accounts Committee that met here Thursday approved the provisional figure, with industry leading the charge at 7.40 percent growth, nearly ten times the 0.78 percent it recorded in the same period last year. Services expanded 3.69 percent, while agriculture trailed at 1.76 percent.
The industrial rebound was fueled largely by large-scale manufacturing, which grew 5.71 percent on the back of soaring automobile production, and by a 15.11 percent jump in electricity, gas and water supply, boosted by increased subsidies and a falling consumer price deflator (CPI electricity). Construction added 10.53pc, buoyed by an 8.44 percent rise in cement output.
The gains came despite continued weakness in crops. Cotton production fell 0.9 percent, dragging important crops down 1.87 percent, while other crops contracted 5.69pc. Higher input costs, seeds up six percent and fertiliser up 7.2 percent, squeezed farmers further. Livestock offered some relief, growing 5.59 percent.
The committee also revised down first-quarter growth for FY 2025-26 to 3.63 percent from an earlier estimate of 3.71 percent, citing steeper contractions in mining and softer manufacturing and construction numbers. Annual growth figures for FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25 were likewise nudged down to 2.62 percent and 3.06 percent, respectively.
Wholesale and retail trade grew 4.46 percent, driven by higher marketable supply from domestic agriculture (2 percent), manufacturing (6.1 percent) and imports (1.3 percent). Transportation and storage expanded 2.79 percent on increased road and water transport output.
The finance and insurance sector rose 4.52 percent, despite a high base of 11.13 percent in the same period last year. Public administration and social security grew 8.69 percent, education 4.90 percent, human health and social work 5.66 percent and other private services 2.79 percent, all contributing positively.
For Pakistan, whose economy contracted in FY 2022-23 amid a balance-of-payments crisis, even incremental gains carry weight. But with agriculture under pressure and mining continuing to contract, sustaining the industrial momentum will be the critical test ahead.
