Economic activities shoot up as ports, cement sales increase considerably – BoG

Economic activities shot up considerably as port activity and cement sales went up, the May 2021 Summary of Economic and Financial Data of the Bank of Ghana indicates.

According to graphical data by the Bank of Ghana, port activity rose from about 62,000 in January 2021 to 69,000 in March 2021 in terms of container traffic.

This shows that there had been more imports and exports which is expected to bring in the much needed tax revenue for the country to meet its 2021 revenue target.

Port activity were relatively lower in the first quarter of last year whereby covid-19 pandemic had begun in some advanced economies. Consequently, port activity dipped significantly during the epic period of covid-19 in March, April and May 2020 respectively.

Sales of cement which is the key material in construction of houses and other buildings also witnessed some significant jump.

For passenger arrivals at the airport, the numbers has seen some encouragement, though yet to hit pre covid-19 levels.

It went up marginally in December 2020 after the further easing of restriction in the economy, but dipped in January and February 2021, but has began rising slightly since March 2021.

Economic activity pick-up in December and January 2021

In that regard, the Bank of Ghana’s updated Composite Index of Economic Activity (CIEA) recorded an annual growth of 13.9% in January 2021, the highest since December 2019, compared to 3.4% in the corresponding period of 2020.

The key drivers of economic activity during the period were construction, imports, industrial consumption of electricity, domestic VAT, passenger arrivals at the airport, and port activity.