Pakistan Fiscal deficit increases drastically to $8.3 billion from $2.5 billion from last year
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ISLAMABAD: Economic Survey 2016-17 was launched by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar today.
The current account deficit, a new source of worry for economic managers, is estimated to widen to $8.3 billion by the end of the outgoing fiscal year.
The amount stood at $2.5 billion in the previous fiscal year, a staggering increase that Dar attributed to import of CPEC projects-related machinery.
He said the import of heavy machinery surged 70%, textile sector showed a 23% increase while the construction (67%) and agriculture (37%) were also responsible for the increasing import bill.
Ishaq Dar maintained that the home-grown industries will be able to help boost country’s economy and said ‘We won’t need to go to the IMF anymore’.
