FPCCI stresses continued growth of large scale manufacturing.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has said that a positive growth in large-scale manufacturing (LSM) will help achieve the annual economic growth target, besides creating jobs if the trend continues in coming months.

According to data, LSM output recorded a significant growth of 7.65 percent in September, besides reporting a 4.8 percent growth during the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

While addressing a delegation of various industrial sectors, FPCCI President Mian Anjum Nisar said, "Growth of the industry has shown a ray of hope for the revival of economic activities in the country." Expressing concern, he added that the data of October 2020 might be critical to sustain the momentum of industrial production during the second wave of Covid-19 in the country.

He stated that during the year 2019-20, LSM output had dropped alarmingly by 10.17 percent year-on-year. The industrial production after suffering from the damage inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic mainly in the construction, sugar, automobile, and pharmaceutical sectors was now clearly reflecting a revival in economic activities in Pakistan.

For the current fiscal year, the government had set the economic growth target at 2.1 percent, which will improve in the current economic situation but is not enough to create jobs for a growing population.

Nisar said the significant decline in interest rates and...