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2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review
DOMINICA
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Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
the value added in the mining and quarrying
sector is estimated to have increased by
10.0 per cent.
Supported by the increased activity in the
construction sector, performance in key
supporting sectors improved. Transport,
storage and communications, which
contributed 15.8 per sent to total output, grew
by 2.4 per cent as upsurges in road and sea
transport more than offset the contraction
observed for air transport. The wholesale and
retail sector, which contributed 14.5 per cent
to total output, grew by 15.0 per cent in 2018,
partially reflecting the re-opening of
businesses whose operations were impeded by
the hurricane and the emergence of new ones.
Expansions in public administration, defence
and compulsory social security (5.0 per cent);
and financial intermediation (1.9 per cent) also
contributed to the marginal growth in
economic activity.
Moderating the increase in total output,
activity in the productive sectors registered
contractions. Value added in the agriculture,
livestock and forestry sector is estimated to
have deteriorated by 11.6 per cent, reflecting
declines in contributions from all sub-sectors.
More specifically, total value added in the
banana sub-sector fell by 29.4 per cent while
that of non-banana crops including root crops
and citrus fell by 10.0 per cent. This outturn
was influenced by the destruction of crops and
limited access to farms in the wake of
hurricane Maria and the resultant need for
replanting. Similarly, value added in the
livestock and forestry sub-sectors fell by
20.0 per cent and 10.0 per cent respectively,
each also impacted by the hurricane.
Accordingly, the sector’s contribution to total
GDP fell to 10.9 per cent from 11.7 per cent
in 2017.
The hotels and restaurants sector, a proxy for
activity in the tourism industry, is estimated to
have contracted for the fourth consecutive
year, by 41.9 per cent in 2018.
The sustained contraction in the sector was
partly a reflection of natural disasters, tropical
storm Erika and hurricane Maria, in 2015 and
2017 respectively. The total number of