Advisor highlights agri output decline

Business Recorder

2 days ago

PESHAWAR: Advisor to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Finance and Inter-Provincial Coordination, Muzzammil Aslam stated that according to the federal government, there has been a 15% decline in the production of major crops, which includes a 30% decline in cotton production alone.
As a result, an additional five billion dollars will need to be spent on cotton imports. Similarly, due to the drop in wheat production, 3 billion dollars will be spent on wheat imports.
Overall, the decrease in agricultural output will force Pakistan to import goods worth $10 billion, representing a loss of Rs2,800 billion to the country and its farmers.
He said the government had claimed that the inflation rate was 4.5% or 4.7%, but it is now admitting that inflation will rise to 7.5% next year.
Muzzammil Aslam noted that Pakistan's GDP this year was Rs114 trillion, and next year it's expected to increase to Rs129 trillion. Despite this, only Rs1 trillion has been allocated for development expenditures and the federal government is not launching any new projects. Likewise, no new projects have been allocated to the provinces.
Of the Rs1 trillion development budget, Rs120 billion is from savings that were not provided as fuel subsidies, which are being used to build roads in Balochistan. This means that the actual Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is only Rs880 billion.
He further stated that under the 'Uraan Pakistan' programme, discussions were held on sports, water, and the environment, and Rs65 billion was initially allocated to higher education. This has now been slashed to Rs45 billion without any consultation with the provinces.
Muzzammil Aslam pointed out that the government had earlier said that projects which are more than 75% complete would be prioritized, yet two road projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that were over 90% complete have been deleted, which he called a clear injustice and raised during today's meeting.
He questioned, 'If the government claims inflation is being brought down to 1%, why is the interest rate still at 11%.' He said that Rs2 to 2.5 trillion in savings from interest payments this year should be redirected to development projects but it is not happening.
He said that according to the Planning Ministry, 118 development projects have been scrapped, while the government is claiming that the growth rate will be 4.2% next year, with inflation at 7.5%. Exports will not increase significantly, but imports will rise, and $39.5 billion in remittance has been estimated.
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