Finance Minister, Winston Jordan today revealed that the economy grew 4.5 percent in the first half of 2018.
The details of the country’s performance as at June 31, 2018, are contained on the Mid-year Report which was prepared by the Finance Ministry and laid in the National Assembly yesterday.
The report notes that Guyana’s economy is estimated to have grown by 4.5 percent, comparing favourably with the revised growth rate of 2.5 percent for the first half of 2017.
Correspondingly, the non-sugar growth rate is estimated to have climbed to 5.1 percent from a revised 2.8 percent. Preliminary data indicate that this growth, for the first half of 2018, was more broad-based than the previous year, with robust performances in agriculture, fishing, and forestry, of 3.4 percent; services, of 8.2 percent; and construction, of 13.4 percent.
The Mid-year Report states that the significant increase in the construction sector was evidenced by higher building imports by 24.7 percent, supported by the increased pace of execution of the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), which rose by 3.9 percentage points above the previous half year.
It also states that private sector investments also improved, with, for example, real estate mortgages rising by 5.0 percent at the end of the review period, compared to 4.1 percent at the previous half year.
