Container traffic at Ghana’s seaports decline by 14.2%
International trade at the country’s two main seaports (Tema and Takoradi), as measured by laden container traffic for inbound and outbound containers, declined in the first quarter of 2022.
Total container traffic for the first quarter dipped by 14.2% to 163,939 compared with 191,051 for the corresponding period of last year.
According to the Bank of Ghana (BoG) in its May 2022 Monetary Policy Report, the relative decline in port activities was due to a slowdown in international trade activities over the review period amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.
For international passenger arrivals within the review period, arrivals increased in March 2022 by 82.8 percent to 64,358 compared to a similar period in 2021. Similarly, compared to February 2022, arrivals went up by 27.4 percent.
For the first quarter of 2022, there were 171,145 arrivals compared with 98,950 for the corresponding period in 2021, representing a growth of 73.0 percent. The sharp year-on-year increase in tourist arrivals reflected the easing of travel restrictions over the review period.
Activity in the construction sub-sector, proxied by the volume of cement sales, declined by 5.1 percent (year-on-year) in March 2022 to 366,056.20 tonnes, down from 385,640.92 tonnes recorded a year ago.
On a month-on-month basis, total cement sales increased by 14.2 percent in March 2022 compared with the 320,548.91 tonnes recorded in February 2022. However, cement sales for the first quarter of 2022 went down by 5.8 percent to 1,001,259.90 tonnes, from 1,062,902.24 tonnes for the same period of 2021.
The decline in total cement sales was due to a slowdown in construction activities during the review period.
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 (Tier-1), improved in March 2022.
Total Direct Taxes collected increased by 25.6 percent (year-on-year) to GH¢3,478.67 million in March 2022, relative to GH¢2,769.94 million recorded in a similar period in 2021
Cumulatively, total Direct Taxes collected for the first quarter of 2022 went up by 14.1 percent to GH¢6,529.91 million, from GH¢5,721.46 million for the same period in 2021.
In terms of contributions of the various sub-tax categories, Corporate tax accounted for 64.0 percent, Income tax (PAYE and self employed) accounted for 28.0 percent, while “Other Tax Sources” contributed 8.0 percent.
Total private sector workers’ contribution to the SSNIT Pension Scheme (Tier-1) increased by 23.8 percent in year-on-year terms to GH¢258.80 million in March 2022, from GH¢208.99 million collected during the corresponding period in 2021.
Cumulatively, for the first quarter of 2022, the contribution grew by 26.4 percent to GH¢733.45 million, relative to GH¢580.37 million recorded in the same period in 2021.
Meanwhile, consumer spending, proxied by domestic VAT collections and retail sales, posted a mixed performance in March 2022, compared with the corresponding period in 2021.
Domestic VAT collections increased by 21.5 percent on a year-on-year basis to GHS 649.93 million, from GHS 534.80 million. On a month-on-month basis, domestic VAT improved by 10.8 percent in March 2022 from GHS 586.65 million in the preceding month.
Cumulatively, total domestic VAT for the first quarter of 2022 went up by 14.7 percent to GHS 1,808.04 million, compared with GHS 1,576.61 million for the corresponding period of last year.
The relative improvement in domestic VAT collections largely reflected increased household consumption during the review period. Retail sales, on the other hand, dipped marginally by 2.9 percent (year-on-year) to GHS 114.05 million in March 2022, down from the GH¢117.46 million recorded in the same period in 2021. Compared to February 2022, retail sales declined by 5.6 percent.
According to the Central Bank, real sector activity is expected to recover close to its potential in the near term, on account of improving growth expectations, accommodative monetary conditions, and increasing foreign demand.
However, the recent tightening of monetary conditions to address inflationary pressures and support the fiscal consolidation are likely to moderate the recovery momentum over the medium term.
