Annual Economic and Financial Review -December 2018

2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review

GRENADA

a rate of growth of 3.2 per cent in 2017. The closely related sector of real estate, renting and business activities grew at a rate of 2.2 per cent, slightly below the rate of 2.5 per cent recorded in 2017. The favourable performance of the hotels and restaurants, construction and education sectors provided the catalyst for continued growth in the transport, storage and communications sector (6.4 per cent) and the wholesale and retail trade sector (10.0 per cent). Those sectors together accounted for 21.5 per cent of total GDP in 2018, slightly above the 20.9 per cent contributed in the prior year. Valued added in the manufacturing sector accelerated at a pace of 7.0 per cent in 2018, after registering growth of 2.7 per cent in the previous year. The sector’s overall contribution to GDP rose marginally to 3.4 per cent in 2018 from 3.3 per cent in 2017. There was an increase in the production of all beverage categories, with the exception of rum, which declined by 4.5 per cent. Production of stout, malt and beer rose by 31.7 per cent, 8.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively. Soft drinks production grew by 17.1 per cent, as a result of the reintroduction

of an international soft drink brand. Output of chemicals and paints rose by 8.1 per cent reflecting increases in the production lines of oxygen (71.0 per cent), acetylene (28.5 per cent) and paint (6.5 per cent). With respect to grain mill and bakery products, flour production fell by a further 11.3 per cent, associated with challenges on the export market. More specifically, regional competition in another OECS country and the non-implementation of Article 164 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas has made it difficult for Grenada’s product to compete with cheaper flour from the larger Caribbean countries. Animal feed production registered an overall increase of 19.2 per cent, as a 31.9 per cent rise in poultry feed was able to offset the 17.4 per cent decline in wheat bran production. The volume of toilet paper produced increased by 14.4 per cent in 2018, more than twice the growth recorded in the former year. The positive outturn in the manufacturing sector along with real estate, renting and business services contributed to a 3.6 per cent increase in value added in the electricity and water sector. The agriculture, livestock and forestry sector recorded its third consecutive year of contraction. Value added in the sector declined by a rate of 3.8 per cent in 2018,

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