Agriculture growth in 1Q hit by floods

Friday, 12 August 2011 03:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Government has informed Parliament that the country’s agriculture sector has recorded a negative growth of 5.1 percent during the first quarter of this year.

The Mid Year Fiscal Position report that was tabled in parliament has attributed the decline in the agriculture sector to the two waves of floods that hit the country.The report however has stated that the overall economy had recorded a positive growth of 7.9 percent during the period, in comparison to the 7.1 percent reported during the corresponding period of the previous year. The industry sector had grown by 11.1 percent, due to the positive performances in manufacturing, mining and quarrying, power generation and construction sub sectors, and the service sector had grown by 9.5 percent. The report has also stated that earnings from exports increased by 54.3 percent to US$ 2,721 million during the period whereas the import expenditure increased by 39.9 percent to US$ 4,458 million.