Real sector activities recorded a mixed performance in the first quarter of 2023, the May 2023 Monetary Sector Report from the Bank of Ghana has disclosed.

According to the Bank of Ghana, domestic VAT collections increased by 92.4% on a year-on-year basis to ¢1.250 billion, from ¢649.93 million.

Cumulatively, total domestic VAT for the first quarter of 2023 went up by 76.8% to ¢3,196 billion compared to ¢1.808 billion for the corresponding period of last year.. 

Retail sales also increased by 44.9 percent to ¢165.20 million in March 2023, up from the ¢114.05 million recorded in the same period in 2022. On a month-on-month basis, retail sales improved by 19.2% in March 2023, from ¢138.60 million in the preceding month. In cumulative terms, retail sales for the first quarter of 2023 went up by 30.3%.

Manufacturing activities improve

Furthermore, activities in the manufacturing sub-sector, gauged by trends in the collection of direct taxes and private sector workers’ contributions to the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension Scheme, improved in March 2023.

Total direct taxes collected increased by 37.7% (year-on-year) to ¢4.788 billion in March 2023, relative to ¢3.478 billion recorded in the same period in 2022.

Total private sector workers’ contribution to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1) increased by 22.7% in year-on-year terms to ¢317.61 million in March 2023, from ¢258.80 million collected during the corresponding period in 2022.

Construction activities dip

However, activity in the construction sub-sector, proxied by the volume of cement sales, declined by 29.3%.

On a month-on-month basis, total cement sales improved by 12.8% in March 2023 compared with the 229,236.26 tonnes recorded in February 2023. Cement sales for the first quarter of 2023 went down by 28.6% to 715,070.24 tonnes, from 1,001,259.90 tonnes for the same period of 2022.

The decline in total cement sales, the report said, was due to a slowdown in construction activities during the review period

Vehicle registration up

Transport-sector activities, gauged by new vehicle registrations by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), declined by 44.1% to 12,847 in March 2023, from 22,978 vehicles registered during the corresponding period of 2022.

Cumulatively, vehicles registered by the DVLA within the first quarter of 2023 decreased by 45.2% to 54,568 from 99,514 recorded a year ago.

Passenger arrivals improve 33%

Passenger arrivals also improved by 33.8% in year-on-year terms to 86,115 in March 2023, up from 64,358 arrivals recorded a year ago.

Compared to February 2023, passenger arrivals went up by 15.4%.

Cumulatively, for the first quarter of 2023, there were 247,834 arrivals recorded at the international airports and the land borders, compared with 171,145 arrivals for the corresponding period in 2022, representing a growth of 44.8%.

International trade at the two main harbours fell

International trade at the two main harbours (Tema and Takoradi), as measured by laden container traffic for inbound and outbound containers, declined during the period under review.

Total container traffic decreased by 5.7%, year-on-year to 53,615 in March 2023, from 56,879 in March 2022.

The relative decline in port activities, the report, said it was due to a slowdown in international trade activities over the review period, amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Labour demand falls

The number of jobs advertised in selected print and online media, which partially gauges labour demand in the economy, decreased in April 2023 relative to what was observed in the corresponding period a year ago.

In total, 2,581 job adverts were recorded, as compared with 2,777 for the same period in 2022, indicating a decline of 7.1% (year-on-year).

On a month-on-month basis, the number of job vacancies went down by 6.3% from the 2,754 jobs advertised in March 2023.

Cumulatively, for the first four months of 2023, the total number of advertised jobs declined by 2.9% to 10,707 from 11,029 recorded during the same period in 2022.