{"id":109083,"date":"2026-06-02T02:35:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T02:35:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/pakistans-agriculture-sector-grew-2-9-in-fy26-livestock-expanded-3-8\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T02:35:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T02:35:07","slug":"pakistans-agriculture-sector-grew-2-9-in-fy26-livestock-expanded-3-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/pakistans-agriculture-sector-grew-2-9-in-fy26-livestock-expanded-3-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan\u2019s agriculture sector grew 2.9% in FY26, livestock expanded 3.8%"},"content":{"rendered":"
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KARACHI: Pakistan\u2019s agriculture sector posted moderate growth of 2.9% during fiscal year 2025-26, while government has set a growth target of 3.8% FY-27.<\/p>\n

The livestock sector, a key driver of agricultural output, recorded an accelerated expansion of 3.8%, up from 2.9% the previous year, according to official data<\/a> released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).<\/p>\n

The agriculture sector\u2019s performance reflects a gradual recovery despite mixed results among major crops, weather-related constraints and a high base effect from the previous year.<\/p>\n

In contrast, livestock maintained strong momentum, driven by commercialization, improved disease management and rising consumer demand.<\/p>\n

Livestock emerged as a standout performer, with growth accelerating to 3.8% in FY2025-26. Population estimates showed cattle numbers rising 3.8% to 61.96 million, buffaloes up 3% to 49.1 million and goats increasing 2.7% to 91.8 million.<\/p>\n

Sheep, camels, horses, mules and asses also recorded positive but slower growth.<\/p>\n

According to the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, livestock remains the most significant sub-sector of agriculture, contributing 14.63% to Pakistan\u2019s gross domestic product and 60.84% to agriculture value added.<\/p>\n

The sector\u2019s net foreign exchange earnings accounted for approximately 1.6% of the country\u2019s total exports as of FY25.<\/p>\n

The livestock sector provides raw material for local industries, generates markets, creates capital and serves as a social safety net for rural households, an official said.<\/p>\n

It ensures income in times of need and offers security against crop failures, particularly in rainfed, or barani, areas.<\/p>\n

Forestry and fishing also contributed positively, posting growth of 2% and 1.7%, respectively.<\/p>\n

Agriculture remains the largest sector of Pakistan\u2019s economy<\/a>. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, it contributes about 24% of GDP, accounts for half of the employed labor force and is the largest source of foreign exchange earnings. A majority of the population depends on the sector directly or indirectly.<\/p>\n

Important crops including cotton, rice, sugarcane, maize and wheat collectively posted a marginal increase of 0.6% over the previous year.<\/p>\n

Wheat, the country\u2019s staple crop, showed encouraging signs, with area expanding to 9.478 million hectares from 9.074 million hectares, and production rising 4.3% to 29.6 million tons, up from 28.4 million tons. Sugarcane production increased 6.2% to 89.4 million tons.<\/p>\n

However, not all crops fared well. Rice area contracted by 3.6%, though production managed a slight 2.8% increase. Maize production dipped 2.7%, while cotton continued its struggle, with output falling 0.5% and area shrinking 1.5%.<\/p>\n

Despite a challenging high base of 19.7% growth last year, the \u201cother crops\u201d sub-sector expanded by 2.4%, driven by strong performances in gram (50.4%), potato (27.6%), mangoes (11.6%), banana (30.8%), turmeric (25.1%) and chilies (9.2%). Officials attributed the gains to better irrigation management, supportive market conditions and improved output of pulse crops.<\/p>\n

In contrast, the cotton ginning and miscellaneous segment recorded only 0.1% growth, reflecting subdued cotton output during the year.<\/p>\n

While the agriculture sector\u2019s overall performance remains below potential, analysts said the steady growth in livestock and high-value crops offers a cushion against volatility in staple crop output.<\/p>\n

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KARACHI: Pakistan\u2019s agriculture sector posted moderate growth of 2.9% during fiscal year 2025-26, while government has set a growth target of 3.8% FY-27. The livestock sector, a key driver of agricultural output, recorded an accelerated expansion of 3.8%, up from 2.9% the previous year, according to official data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":109084,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.bolnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Adam-Cohn-Unsplash-scaled-1.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t