JAMAICA’S gross domestic product for the July to September 2018 quarter grew by 1.9 per cent, bolstered by significant improvement in the mining and quarrying industry, according to the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
“Overall, the projected outturn for the July to September 2018 quarter largely reflected the positive impact of increased domestic demand pushed by record levels of employment; increased consumer and business confidence; expansion of capacity utilisation in the mining and quarrying industry; increased construction activities with the expansion of the road network, building of new hotel rooms and other commercial buildings; and continued stability in the macroeconomic environment,” stated PIOJ Director General Dr Wayne Henry at the quarterly press briefing held at the institute’s office in Kingston on Wednesday.
Notwithstanding, real gross domestic product declined slightly when compared to the same period in 2017, which stood at 2.2 per cent. Still, economic growth remains on target, expected to fall between 1.5 and 2.5 per cent.
“Real value added for the mining and quarrying industry grew by an estimated 54 per cent, reflecting the increased output of alumina, which outweighed a decline in crude bauxite production. Alumina production increased by 65.7 per cent to 689 kilo tonnes,” Henry stated.
He noted that output at Alpart — for which there was no production during the corresponding period in 2017 — stood at 264 kilo tonnes, while production of alumina at Jamalco increased by 16.7 per cent to 322 kilo tonnes. Meanwhile, the production of crude bauxite declined by 9.8 per cent.
Categorised in the goods-producing industry, the mining and quarrying subsector recorded the highest growth — 37.1 per cent — for the first nine months of 2018, with agriculture, forestry and fishing registering a 4.8 per cent increase and construction 2.3 per cent.
The manufacturing sector experienced a contraction of 0.8 per cent.
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