An Economist and Director at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, (ISSER), Professor Peter Quartey has ascribed the poor performance of the Industry sector – as reported by the Ghana Statistical Service, to high inflation and high cost of doing business in the country during last year, 2022.
Data released by the Ghana Statistical Service yesterday April 19, 2023 showed that the 3.1% growth rate of the economy was led by the Services sector, followed by Agriculture and Industry.
Speaking on the issue during an interview, Prof. Peter Quartey communicated that the difficult economic conditions contributed to the poor performance of the Industry sector.
“As a business owner, if you want to produce, you will also want to look at the environment. Analyze the environment to see if the exchange rate is depreciating rapidly, if inflation is going up, if electricity tariffs are going up, fuel prices are rising, and if interest rates are going up; before you go into production.”
Professor Peter Quartey
The Economist pointed out that all the factors and macro-economic indicators got worse in 2022, a situation that heavily contributed to the low performance of industry.
“I am not surprised. It was expected. There was a lot of market uncertainty. As an investor, despite all the policies of government, these factors will affect your production.”
Professor Peter Quartey
Prof. Quartey further added that the consumer was also overburdened, affecting incomes. This, he said, affected the purchasing power of consumers.
“Even if you are a producer, demand for your goods may come down. All these factors affected industry.”
Professor Peter Quartey
Ghana’s Economy Expands By 3.1% in 2022, Less Than 3.7 Forecast
Ghana Statistical Service in its provision report disclosed that Ghana’s economy expanded by 3.1% in 2022, 0.6% lower than 3.7% forecast by the government.
This, according to the GSS, is below Ghana’s average Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 5.0% pre-Covid-19.
The GSS noted that the provisional estimate beats most analysts forecast, as the African Development Bank in January 2023 had projected that Ghana’s economy grew by 3.6% in 2022.
More so, in 2021, post Covid-19, the economy grew by 0.9%.
According to the GSS, Industry recorded a GDP growth rate of 0.9%. But the Manufacturing sub-sector (-2.5%), Electricity (-3.3%), Water and Sewerage (-4.9%) and Construction (-4.0%) sub-sectors contracted.
Read Also: Ghana’s Economy Grows By 3.1% in 2022, Less Than 3.7 Forecast- GSS Latest Data Revealed
