Kenya’s economic growth slows to 5.3pc in quarter 1
By Noel.Wandera, July 5, 2023
The rate of economic growth dropped by 0.9 per cent to 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 after recording a 6.2 per cent jump in the corresponding period in 2022.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) quarter 1, 2023 records show that only the agricultural sector expanded, from 1.7 per cent to 5.8 per cent, supported by favourable weather conditions that led to enhanced production in food crops.
“The performance was evident in the significant increase in export of vegetables and fruits recorded during the quarter in review,” the bureau says.
Declines were experienced in the accommodation and food services (21.5 per cent from 40.1), ICT from 9 per cent to 8.7 per cent, financials (5.8 per cent from 17 per cent), while transport and accommodation reduced to 6.2 from 7.7 per cent.
The same trend was witnessed in the electricity and water storage sector whose performance declined to 2.3 per cent from 3.2 per cent in 2022, the construction registering a 3.1 per cent performance from the 6 per cent recorded in 2022 and the manufacturing at 2 per cent from 3.8 per cent recorded in 2022.
owever, in the period under review credit advanced to enterprises increased by 14.9 per cent to Sh1,6 trillion compared to Sh1.4 trillion in the first quarter of 2022 to Sh 1,603.7 billion in 2023, while that advanced to the construction sector grew to Sh414.6 billion in 2023 from Sh397.8 billion.
The volume of milk deliveries declined from 197.5 million in the first quarter of 2022 to 166.5 million litres, pointing to subdued production while tea production declined by 13 per cent to stand at 118.1 thousand metric tonnes. Coffee exports also declined by 5.4 per cent to 11,284.9 tonnes, while the volume of sugarcane production also dropped from 2,180.3 thousand metric tonnes to 2,171.0 thousand metric tonnes.
The decelerated growth in the manufacturing sector was mirrored in the volume of cement consumption, which declined by 7.7 per cent in the period under review.