36.5% increment in container traffic at Tema and Takoradi Ports recorded in Q2 2021
Container traffic for imports and exports at the nation’s seaports – Tema and Takoradi Ports – increased by 36.5 percentage points in the second quarter of this year.
According to the Q2 2021 Quarterly Bulletin released by the Central Bank, total container traffic at the ports increased from 146,266 containers in Q2 2020 to 199,670 containers in Q2 2021.
Similarly, port activity according to the Bank increased by 4.5 percent when compared to the 191,051 laden containers recorded in the first quarter of 2021.
The relative improvement in port activity, the Central Bank notes may be attributed to an up-tick in international trade as global COVID-restrictions eased during the review quarter.
The recorded improvement in port traffic and activity the Bank of Ghana (BoG) asserts in the Quarterly Bulletin reflected the general improvement in the performance of the domestic economy during the second quarter of 2021 compared with trends observed during the same period in 2020.
According to the Bank, the relative pick-up in real sector activities was mainly due to the continued recovery of the economy from the adverse effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
For instance, indicators of economic activity such as consumer spending, measured by domestic VAT collections and retail sales, improved in the second quarter of 2021 compared with figures recorded in the corresponding period of 2020.
Domestic VAT collections grew by 34.3 percent (year-on-year), to GH¢1,719.64 million, relative to GH¢1,280.39 million collected during the corresponding quarter in 2020. Similarly, domestic VAT increased by 9.1 percent compared with GH¢1,576.61 million collected for the first quarter of 2021.
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Retail sales increased by 31.6 percent (year-on-year), to GH¢337.43 million during the second quarter of 2021, from GH¢256.50 million recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2020. The comparative improvement in retail sales could be attributed to increased household consumption during the review period.
Also, manufacturing-related activities, as measured by trends in the collection of direct taxes (income, corporate and others) and private sector workers’ contributions to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1), posted a positive outturn in Q2:2021.
Total direct taxes collected increased by 28.2 percent (year-on-year), to GH¢6,429.05 million in Q2:2021, relative to GH¢5,015.12 million recorded for Q2:2020. Total direct tax collected for the quarter under review also improved by 12.4 percent from GH¢5,721.46 million collected in the first quarter of 2021.
In terms of contribution of the various sub-tax categories, Corporate Tax accounted for 49.9 percent, followed by Income Tax (PAYE and self-employed) with 37.7 percent, while other tax sources contributed 12.4 percent.
Economic activity in the construction sub-sector, as measured by the volume of cement sales, improved by 19.1 percent (year-on-year), during the second quarter of 2021 to 1,057,271.00 tonnes, from 887,734.28 tonnes recorded in the second quarter of 2020.
Conversely, total cement sales during the review period declined marginally by 0.5 percent when compared with 1,062,902.24 tonnes recorded during the first quarter of 2021. The relative improvement in total cement sales was due to an uptick in construction activities during the review period.
