KARACHI, May 21: In ten months to April this year, banks disbursed Rs82.54 billion worth of farm loans, which indicates they would exceed the initial target of Rs85 billion and might touch Rs100 billion mark. But even if agricultural lending reaches Rs100 billion during this fiscal year it would not be too large in terms of overall percentage of total private sector credit, which looks set to reach Rs375 billion or so.
In ten months to April 2005, the Rs82.5 billion farm credit was less than one-fourth of the total private sector credit of Rs363 billion disbursed during this period. Banking source told Dawn that five major banks disbursed Rs39.9 billion farm credit between July-April 2004-05 exceeding their initial full fiscal year target of Rs38 billion.
The banks included National Bank, Habib Bank, Muslim Commercial Bank, United Bank and Allied Bank. They said that Zarai Taraqiati (Agricultural Development) Bank Ltd disbursed Rs28.03 billion agricultural loans, against its full year target of Rs34 billion. The Punjab Provincial Co-operative Bank gave Rs5.86 billion farm loans in July-April 2004-05 against its full year target of Rs8 billion.
Fourteen local private banks exceeded their initial full fiscal year target of Rs5 billion by extending Rs8.74 billion farm credit in ten months to April 2005.
These banks are: Askari Commercial Bank, Bank Al-Habib, Bank Alfalah, Bolan Bank, Faysal Bank, Metropolitan Bank, PICIC Commercial Bank, KASB Bank, Prime Commercial Bank, Saudi Pak Commercial Bank, Soneri Bank, The Bank of Khyber, The Bank of Punjab and Union Bank.
Higher off-take of agricultural credit is sure to boost the farm sector output during this fiscal year which is so badly needed for overall economic growth. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said earlier this week that Pakistan economy would grow 8.35 per cent during the current fiscal year and that agricultural sector that constitutes roughly one-fourth of the GDP would show an impressive growth of 7 per cent basing his projection on an estimate made by the Ministry of Finance. But the Ministry of Food & Agriculture insists that farm sector output would be five per cent during this fiscal year—still higher than last year’s 2.6 per cent.