The value of goods and services produced in the economy as indicated by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew to Rwf3,279 billion in the second quarter of 2022, representing an increase of 7.5 percent compared to the previous period. This was revealed in the latest statistics presented by the Director General of National Institute of Statistics (NISR) on September 15. “Rwanda’s economy continues to recover despite persistent global economic shocks,” noted Yusuf Murangwa, the Director General of NISR while presenting the figures at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning. The country registered Rwf3,025 billion in GDP during the first quarter of the year. The key contributing sectors of the growth from April to June are; services which contributed 47 percent, agriculture with 25 percent, industry 20 percent, and net direct taxes which accounted for 8 percent. The growth in the agriculture sector was due to an increase of 17 percent in production of export crops mainly boosted by 19 percent increase in coffee production and two percent in tea. However, food crops declined by one percent due to a slow harvest season A of 2022 compared to that of the previous year, explained Murangwa. Service sector registers significant growth The overall contribution of the service sector was mainly driven by the hotels and restaurants which increased by 119 percent, reflecting the set of high activities from conferences and meetings that the country hosted. It was also buoyed by the wholesale and retail trade which increased by 17 percent, transport activities increased by 27 percent from the recovery of air and land transport, financial services also increased by 10 percent and telecommunication services by 8 percent. Industry sector performance Mining and quarrying activities contributed 9 percent to the growth of industry sector while manufacturing grew by 10 percent from an increase of 8 percent in food processing, and 14 percent in beverages. The sector also saw 18 percent growth in textiles, 10 percent in wood manufacturing, and 21 percent increase in manufacturing of non-metallic mineral products. However, given the high growth in construction during the first quarter, the sector did not grow any further in the second one, the statistics body indicated. Reflecting on the figures, Uzziel Ndagijimana, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, said they are still confident of the current projections of the economy to grow by 6 percent in the entire 2022 despite the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war impact and high cost of living. “We think our projections of 6 percent is achievable and we may even exceed that but let’s see how quarter three will perform,” he said.
