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Ghana’s economy grew by 6.8% in Q1 of 2018

Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2018 grew by 6.8% compared to 6.7% recorded for the first quarter of 2017.

According to the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), industry sector recorded the highest growth of 9.6%; the services sector followed with 5.2% and Agriculture with 2.8%.

“From what we are observing you will realize that the quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted figures for the first quarter of 2018, the growth rate was slightly lower than the previous quarter and whiles we don’t want to indicate the slowness in the economy so long as there is a positive figure, it’s an improvement of the previous figure,” Acting Government Statistician, Baah Wadie told JoyBusiness.

Economy records significant growth for the first quarter of 2018

He added, “But it is the growth rate which has slugged and the growth rate that has slugged can be attributed to certain conditions that prevailed during the first quarter of 2018. Key among them was a ban on fishing which we gather that this year affected a lot more persons than the previous sector.”

Sectoral growth for Q1 of 2018

In the Agriculture sector, the Livestock sub-sector grew by 1.2 per cent compared to 1.7 in the 4th quarter of 2017.

The Crops sub-sector grew by 0.6% in the 1st quarter of 2018, compared to 3.5 per cent growth recorded in the 4th quarter of 2017.

The fishing sub-sector recorded the least growth rate of -2.6 per cent within the Agriculture.

Within the industry sector, the Mining and Quarrying sub-sector grew by 5.9 per cent in the 1st quarter of 2018 compared to 10.1 per cent in the 4th quarter of 2017.

The water and sewage sub-sector grew by 2.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, compared to 0.8% growth recorded in the 4th quarter of 2017. Construction sub-sector recorded the least growth rate of -0.2%, compared to 1.1% in the 4th quarter of 2017.

In the Services sector, information 7 Communication grew by 5.8 per cent compared to 3.0 per cent growth rate recorded in the 4th quarter of 2017.

The Health & Social Works sub-sector grew by 2.1 per cent in the 1st quarter of 2018 compared to 5.2% in the 4th quarter of 2017. The least growth rate of -1.7 per cent was observed in the Finance & Insurance sub-sector.

Rebasing of GDP

Meanwhile, the Ghana Statistical Service says it now plans to start using the rebased GDP figures from September this year.

Mr Baah Wadie said, “we want people to look at the entire process that we are going through to release the mid-year figures. We have completed it at a certain level that we thought we could come out, but there are suggestions that we do further quality checks before we come out with the figures and these quality checks cannot be completed in a day or a month.”