AP economy grows 10.7 pc in Q2 despite El Niño challenges: Monthly Economic Report

Amaravati, Aug 11 (TNT): Andhra Pradesh registered a 10.7 per cent economic growth rate during the second quarter of 2025-26 despite challenges posed by El Niño conditions, according to the State’s July 2026 Monthly Economic Report presented to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday.

The report, prepared by the Planning Department, highlighted growth across the agriculture, industrial and services sectors and stated that Andhra Pradesh’s growth rate had remained higher than the national average for the past two years.

Officials presented the report to the Chief Minister at his camp office here.

According to the report, the real growth rate of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) increased from 6.5 per cent in 2023-24 to 9.9 per cent in 2025-26.

Industrial production recorded an 8.2 per cent increase compared to June 2026, while spice production surged by 304 per cent during the April-June period to 89,383 metric tonnes. Vegetable production registered a growth of 44.8 per cent.

In the livestock sector, meat production increased by 9.6 per cent, egg production by 5.1 per cent and marine shrimp production by 17 per cent.

The services sector continued to witness strong activity in information technology, transportation and commerce. General exports grew by 10.5 per cent to Rs 16,322 crore, while Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) exports registered a 32.2 per cent increase.

Commercial vehicle purchases rose by 51.6 per cent, while improved technology integration helped GST collections grow by 21 per cent to Rs 13,282 crore.

Mineral production increased by 17.9 per cent and power consumption by 22.2 per cent, the report said.

Tourism activity also witnessed a sharp rise, with the state receiving 3.10 crore domestic tourists and 35,951 foreign tourists during July.

Investment inflows remained robust, with grounding of mega projects worth Rs 2.88 lakh crore registering a growth of 75.4 per cent. Investments in the MSME sector worth around Rs 60,000 crore recorded a growth of 73.6 per cent.

During the second quarter of 2025-26, the agriculture sector registered a growth of 13.5 per cent, while industry and services sectors grew by 10.6 per cent and 9.9 per cent respectively, contributing to the overall economic growth of 10.7 per cent.

Reviewing the report, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu directed officials to formulate plans to achieve the state’s GSDP targets even under challenging conditions such as El Niño.

He stressed the need for effective use of technology across all government departments and called for a comprehensive approach from the state level to the grassroots level to sustain economic growth.

Observing that deficient rainfall and inadequate inflows into the Krishna river had affected water availability in major reservoirs such as Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar, the Chief Minister directed departments to coordinate and ensure that the state’s economic growth was not adversely impacted.

Naidu also instructed officials to prepare contingency plans focusing on water availability, value addition to products and export-oriented sectors.

Stressing that no additional burden should fall on the common man, he directed officials to take necessary measures to achieve the state’s target of 15 per cent growth while maintaining price stability.

Principal Secretary (Finance and Planning) Piyush Kumar, Joint Secretary Shanti Priya Pandey, Planning Department Director B Gopal, APSDPS Executive Director V R Alaparthi and other officials attended the review meeting.

TNT KM