The biggest turnaround is in iron and steel sector, which has turned from a negative 3 to 5 percent to a growth of 12.8 percent. White local fertiliser production has slipped massively from a growth of 0.1 to a 19 percent fall. Similarly, pharma sector''''s output has slowed down from 21.5 percent growth to 4.1 percent rise only. Paper and board production has shot up by 42.8 percent as against a rise of 12.3 percent. Another major export sector - leather - is witnessing a slowdown with a lower growth, i.e., from 9.2 percent last year to 5.0 percent in July to October.
Except for wheat, production targets of all major crops for FY13 are significantly higher than the actual production in FY12 according to the Planning Commission, say SBP. During July to October FY13, there has been a net retirement estimation of working capital, says SBP, while fixed investment was seen to rise compared to the same period in FY12.
Banks increased export finance, but the demand for import finance has dropped. Landing to textile sector is still lower than last year''''s. Bank''''s loans to electricity, gas and water sector have slowed down considerably. Against a cumulative 400 bps cut in SBP policy rate in 16 months incremented weighted average lending rates have declined by 333 bps and weighted average deposit raates have come down by 144bps Investment as a percentage of GDP continues to fall and except for services sector, all the major sectors have shown a declining trend in gross fixed investment to GDP ratio, says SBP.