ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Ishaq Dar unveiled the Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23 on Thursday at a press conference in Islamabad.
During a news conference alongside Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal to launch the Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23, the finance minister emphasized the performance of several sectors of the economy during the previous fiscal year.
According to the finance minister, the current coalition administration is taking steps to steer the economy through numerous challenges.
Dar began the press conference by reminding journalists that when the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came to power in 2013, there were 18 hours of load shedding and terrorism was on the rise.
When discussing the current fiscal year 2022-203, the minister stated that Pakistan achieved GDP growth of 0.29 percent for the previous fiscal year, falling far short of the aim of 5 percent.
“During the first quarter of FY2023, floods engulfed a large portion of agricultural land, disrupting domestic supply.” Flood damages, GDP loss, and rehabilitation costs are estimated to be Rs. 3.2 trillion (US$ 14.9 billion), Rs. 3.3 trillion (US$ 15.2 billion), and Rs. 3.5 trillion (US$16.3 billion),” he stated.
According to Ishaq Dar, Pakistan saw 29.2 percent inflation from July 2022 to May 2023, compared to 11.3 percent at the same time last year.
The government had set an inflation target of 11.5 percent for FY2023, but it fell short due to a rapid depreciation of the rupee and global supply shocks that resulted in high import prices.
According to him, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) tax collection increased 16.1 percent from July to May to Rs6,210 billion, up from Rs5,348.2 billion the previous year.