Ghana’s industrial sector, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, “recorded an average contraction of 1.3 per cent in the first half of 2021, compared with an average contraction of 3.2 per cent over the same period in 2020”.

The sector recorded growth rates of 1.3 per cent and -4.3 per cent in the first and second quarters, respectively, Mr Ofori-Atta told parliament on Wednesday, 17 November 2021 when he presented the 2022 budget to the house.

The mining and quarrying subsector, he noted, “contracted by 11.2 per cent and 18.9 per cent in the first and second quarters of 2021, respectively, compared to contractions of 8.8 per cent and 11.6 per cent in the corresponding periods of 2020”.

“The contraction reflects a decline in the production of oil and gas, as well as gold, over the period”, Mr Ofori-Atta explained, adding: “Oil and gas recorded an average growth of -13.4 per cent for the first two quarters, compared with -4.2 per cent recorded for the same period in 2020”. 

He said the industry subsector with the “highest average growth” was water supply, sewerage, waste management & remediation activities (13.6%), followed by construction (8.1%), manufacturing (7.0%), and electricity (4.8%)”.

The services sector, within the same period, “recorded an average growth rate of 7.2 per cent, compared with 2.3 per cent in the same period of 2020”, Mr Ofori-Atta said.

“The sector recorded growth rates of 4.0 per cent and 11.0 per cent in the first and second quarters respectively, compared to 12.3 per cent and -7.7 per cent for the same period in 2020”, he told the legislature. 

“Mr Speaker, the subsector with the highest growth in the services sector was information and communication (average of 21.0%), followed by health and social work (average of 14.7%), and real estate (average of 11.8%)”.

The hotel and restaurant subsector, which “contracted by an average of 23.9 per cent in the first two quarters of 2020, stemming from COVID-19-related restrictions in the period, further contracted by 5.4 per cent during the same period in 2021, reflective of an industry that is still struggling to recover from the adverse economic effects of the pandemic”.

Structure of the Economy in the First Half of 2021

He said the services sector remains dominant in terms of sectoral distribution of nominal output, although its relative share over the first half-year has shown a marginal decline.

The sector, he noted, accounted for an average share of 51.9 per cent over the first two quarters of 2021, compared with an average of 52.8 per cent over the same period in 2020.

The average share of the agriculture sector increased from 19.1 per cent in the first half of 2020 to 21.3 per cent for the same period in 2021 while the industry sector’s share decreased from 28.0 per cent in the first half of 2020 to 26.7 per cent in the corresponding period in 2021.