Pakistan set to miss 4% GDP growth: Central bank

Karachi: Cash-strapped Pakistan is unlikely to meet the targeted 4 per cent GDP growth this fiscal as two major sectors agriculture and industries have failed to perform well, the central bank has forecast.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in its first

quarterly report on the state of the country's economy for FY20 also advised the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan to address the "structural vulnerabilities" to put the economy on a sustainable growth trajectory.

In the case of Gross Domestic Product, the report noted that the revised estimates for the kharif season suggest that the production of important crops is likely to fall short of target for FY20.

The large-scale manufacturing sector in the country witnessed a decline of 5.9 per cent in Q1-FY20 on YoY basis. This contraction was broad-based, as construction-allied industries, petroleum and automobile industries continued on downward path.

In contrast, previous corrections in the exchange rate helped the export-oriented industries, as reflected in the relatively better performance of textiles and leather. "On balance, however, achieving the real GDP growth target of 4 per cent appears unlikely," the SBP report released on

Monday said.