ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail formally launched the pre-budget document ‘Pakistan Economic Survey 2021-22.
The launching ceremony was attended by minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Federal Minister for Power, Khurram Dastigir, State minister for Finance and Revenue, Aisha Ghaus pasha and other government officials.
The finance minister said that the growth rate remained 5.97 percent during the current fiscal year created the problems of Current Account Deficit and Balance of Payment crisis. He said imports increased by 43 percent during the current fiscal year which will touch 76 to 77 billion rupees.
Miftah Ismail said that the imports also increased by 23 percent. Resultantly, he said the trade deficit has reached $45 billion.
The finance minister said that foreign exchange reserves reduced by $5.6 billion in March and currently stand at around $9.7 billion. He expressed confidence that foreign exchange reserves will touch $12 billion in the next few days with the provision of $2.4 billion by Chinese banks.
Miftah Ismail stressed the need for putting the country in the right direction. He said the government have to increase the prices of petroleum products as Brent crude price is hovering around 120 to 123 dollars per barrel.
The minister pointed out that the country would not have been faced with the current price hike had the previous government signed long term agreements for gas imports during Covid-19 pandemic.
As regards the Foreign Direct Investment, the finance minister said these were two billion dollars in 2017-18 which has come down to $1.25 billion in the first nine months of current fiscal year.
He said Pakistan lags behind in every statistics because of the decision of the incompetent government of PTI. He said Pakistan will have to import three million tons of wheat this year to meet domestic requirements.
The pre-budget document shared the key economic indicators and the performance of different sectors of the economy during the fiscal year 2021-22.
The survey highlighted the main features of the policies undertaken by the government that focused on bringing the macro-economic stability and putting the economy on growth trajectory.
The survey comprehensively covered economic situation of the country besides giving detailed picture of growth and investment, agriculture, manufacturing, mining, fiscal development, money and credit, capital markets, inflation, debt and liabilities.
It also highlighted the performance of agriculture, education, health and nutrition, besides showing the overall population, labour force and employment, poverty, transport and communication and per capita income.
