Pakistan’s Economy to grow 7.5pc: UN survey
**ISLAMABAD: **The Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific-2005, sponsored by the United Nations, has appreciated Pakistan’s robust economic growth in the past few years, hoping the economy will easily exceed the target of 6.6 per cent growth this fiscal year.
The survey, released here says the country has made tremendous progress in agriculture and manufacturing sectors, which will result in achieving the economic growth rate of over 7.5 per cent.
It says the country is poised to achieve over five per cent growth in agriculture by producing about 1.5 million cotton bales and 22 million metric tonnes of wheat this fiscal year (2004-05), which would definitely dent poverty in rural areas.
It also says the country has managed to record a sustainable growth in manufacturing sector during the last three years and hopes this sector will have a growth of 13.1 per cent during the current fiscal year. This rising growth has also helped create job opportunities for the young people.
The UN report says Pakistan exited from the IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility programme in December 2004 and did not utilise the final tranche of $262 million, which reflects stability of its economy.
The tighter macro-economic policies and structural reforms have resulted in a stronger external position, lower public debt burden, renewed access to international capital markets and revival of growth.
The report suggests improvement in the water management system, which is essential to overcome water shortages and flooding for sustained agricultural growth in the country.
It says exports of the country have registered a double-digit growth during the current financial year with an increase of 10 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of last financial year.
**The imports have also shown an accelerated growth of 27.6 per cent during this period, however, a sharp increase has been noted in the imports of machinery and metals, indicating the economy is on the path of recovery. **
