5.1 percent GDP growth rate in second quarter

Kathmandu, March 27: The country’s economic growth rate has been estimated to stand at 5.1 percent in the second quarter of the current fiscal year 2081/82 BS (2024/25 AD).

Making public the forecasts of preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter on Wednesday, the National Statistical Office said that there has been a slight growth in GDP despite improvement in some sectors, including transportation. However, the growth rate has not reflected the adjustment of weather impacts.

The office informed that the GDP growth rate after adjusting for weather impact in the second quarter was 2.2 percent. “Improvement in transportation, construction sector, agriculture, electricity generation and distribution, along with an increase in total value addition of financial intermediation, are the main factors contributing to the positive economic growth in the second quarter”, the office said.

“The growth rate is expected to remain modest, especially due to sluggish progress in education, housing, food and other service sectors during the reporting period”, the forecast stated. Based on weather impact-adjusted data, negative growth is projected in two out of 18 industrial areas.

The electricity and gas sector witnessed a negative growth of 4.8 percent and housing and food sectors saw a negative growth of 2.7 percent. According to the data, transportation and storage activities have the highest growth rate of 14.2 percent, while the mining and quarrying sector is the second highest-growing industrial sector with a 9.5 percent growth rate.

Similarly, with the rise in the import of construction materials and domestic production, the total value-added growth rate of the construction sector is estimated to be 9.1 percent. The growth rate of the financial and insurance sector is estimated to be 6.6 percent due to the growth rate of manufacturing industries at 7.4 percent and the increase in deposits and loans.

According to the preliminary estimate, the growth rate of the trade sector is 6.1 percent and the information and technology sector is 4.9 percent. The agriculture sector, which contributes the most to the country’s economy, has grown at 3.2 percent.

“The increase in the production of rice, vegetables, ginger, winter fruits and livestock products has had a positive impact on the total value addition in the sector”, it is said. —RSS