The year-on-year quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) for the third quarter of 2017/18 stood at 6.4 per cent compared to the growth of 4.5 per cent registered in the same period in 2016/17, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics says in the latest report.
In value terms, the report says, the economy expanded to 14,438 billion shillings in third quarter of 2017/18 from 13,573 billion shillings estimated in the same period for the fiscal year 2016/17.
According to the report, the year-on-year value added in the agriculture sector is estimated to have upped by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2017/18 compared to a growth of 4.7 per cent in the same quarter of 2016/17.
UBOS attributes the increase to the increase in the agricultural support services activities that grew by 6.6 per cent as a result of favourable weather conditions.
Meanwhile, year-on-year, the industrial sector grew by 9.7 per cent in the third of 2017/18 compared to a growth of 2.0 per cent in the same period in 2016/17. The better performance was driven by the increase in crude oil/mining explorations as well as construction activities which grew by 27.7 per cent and 10.2 per cent respectively.
On the other hand, the services sector year-on-year value added grew by 8.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2017/18 compared to the growth of 6.0 percent in the same period of 2016/17. UBOS attributes the growth to the information and communications activities that grew by 15.6 per cent.
However, real GDP grew in third quarter of 2017/18 by 1.1 percent compared to 1.1 percent in second quarter.
Value added in agriculture sector in the third quarter of 2017/18 grew by 0.1 per cent from a decline of 0.4 per cent. In the second quarter. The growth was boosted by the food crop growing activities although the same report shows that the value added for cash crop growing activities declined by 9.1 per cent and fishing activities by 4.9 per cent.
In addition value added in industry sector increased 3.0 per cent in third quarter of 2017/18 compared to an increase of 1.4 per cent in the previous quarter. The growth was boosted by manufacturing and construction activities which grew by 1.7 per cent and 5.7 per cent respectively.
The services sector value added grew by 2.5 per cent in third quarter of 2017/18 compared to 1.7 per cent attained in the second quarter. The growth, according to UBOS, was supported by the growth in financial, insurance (5.7 per cent), information and communications activities (5.7 per cent).