[ad_1]
(Updates with context, details)
DAR ES SALAAM, July 28 (Reuters) – Tanzania's economic growth has slowed to stand at 6.6 percent in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 7.5 percent for the same period of the year. previous, under the effect of a slowdown in construction, agriculture and manufacturing activity, data showed on Sunday.
The state-run National Bureau of Statistics said in a report that the construction sector grew 13.2 percent from January to March, up from 15.6 percent a year ago.
Construction is the main driver of the gross domestic product of the third largest economy in East Africa. The sector's growth slowed to 13.2% in January-March from 15.6% a year ago, the SNB said in a report.
"Crop production increased 6.0% in the first quarter of 2019, compared to 8.9% in the corresponding quarter of 2018," the report says.
The manufacturing sector, another key contributor to GDP, grew 4.8% in the first quarter, up from 5.3% a year earlier.
The mining sector's growth of Africa's fourth largest gold producer rebounded to 10.0%, compared to a 5.7% decline in the same period in 2018.
"Growth (in the mining sector) is mainly due to an increase in the production of gold, coal and diamonds," NBS said.
The Tanzanian government said the economy grew 7 percent last year and forecast 7.1 percent growth in 2019.
Earlier this month, however, the World Bank released its own estimates that Tanzania's economy grew by 5.2 percent in 2018, well below government figures. These figures follow a leak in the International Monetary Fund's April report that also projected lower growth of about 4-5% in the "medium term".
The IMF report indicates that Tanzania's official data have serious weaknesses, with other indicators indicating a more moderate pace of economic activity.
Following the World Bank report, Tanzania announced that it could revise its GDP growth rate for 2018 at its meeting with bank representatives in August. (Report by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala, edited by Katharine Houreld and Sam Holmes)
Source link
