Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday unveiled the Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2025-26, acknowledging that several major economic targets, particularly in agriculture and industry, were not achieved during the outgoing fiscal year.
Presenting the survey in Islamabad, the finance minister said Pakistan faced multiple challenges throughout the year, including global tariff-related uncertainty, devastating floods during August and September 2025, and regional tensions earlier this year. Despite these setbacks, he maintained that the economy remained on a path from stabilisation towards growth.
According to the Economic Survey, the agriculture sector grew by 2.8%, falling short of the 4.5% target. Crop production recorded growth of 2.4% against a target of 3.5%, while livestock expanded by 3.7%, below the projected 4.2%. Forestry and fisheries also underperformed, recording growth rates of 2% and 1.6%, respectively.
The industrial sector posted growth of 3.5% compared to the target of 4.3%. However, manufacturing emerged as a bright spot, registering 6.6% growth against the target of 4.7%. Large-scale manufacturing exceeded expectations with growth of 6.1%, while construction achieved 5.7%, significantly higher than its 3.8% target.
The services sector grew by 4.09%, slightly above the target of 4%. Information and communication services recorded one of the strongest performances, growing by 7.5% compared to the projected 5%.
In agriculture, wheat production increased by 4.3% to 29.6 million tonnes, while rice and sugarcane output rose by 2.8% and 6.2%, respectively. However, maize production declined by 2.68% and cotton output slipped by 0.5%.
The survey also highlighted strong growth in chickpea production, which surged by more than 50%, while potato and banana production increased substantially.
The findings provide a detailed snapshot of Pakistan’s economic performance ahead of the federal budget, showing progress in several sectors while highlighting challenges that continue to affect overall growth and productivity.
More to follow………..