Our GDP growth slowed down over the third quarter

by Tunji Andrews

The National Bureau of Statistics in a report has stated that the economy grew by 6.23% in the third quarter of 2014. The publication which provided data on Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates for the four quarters of 2013, the annual figure for 2013, and estimate for the first, second
and third quarters of 2014, also stated that the real growth rate was at 8.67%.

The results which are measured using a Quarterly National Accounts (QNA), which is an integrated system of macroeconomic accounts designed to describe the entire system of production in a nation on a quarterly basis.

In a statement by the Statistician General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, relative to the Second Quarter of 2014, the economy grew by 8.67 percent in the Third Quarter.

The nominal GDP at basic prices for the Third Quarter of 2014 was estimated at N22,933,144.01 million, up 12.06 percent from N20,464,395.99 million estimated for the corresponding quarter of 2013 and 5.51 percent from N21,734,829.86 million recorded in the second quarter of 2014.

The economy is broadly classified into two output sectors, the oil and non-oil sectors.

The NBS said the oil sector experienced production challenges as the average daily production of crude oil in the Third Quarter of 2014 was recorded at 2.15 million barrels per day (mbpd), a decrease from 2.26 mbpd recorded in the Third Quarter of 2013 and 2.21 mbpd recorded in Second Quarter of the year 2014.

The result was a decline in oil GDP by 3.6 percent in the Third Quarter of 2013, as this was also lower relative to 5.47 percent in the Second Quarter of 2014.

The oil sector contributed approximately 10.45 percent to real GDP in the third quarter of 2014, lower from the 10.76 percent contribution in the Second Quarter of 2014, and the 11.51 percent contribution recorded during the Third Quarter of 2013.

The non-oil sector growth was driven by growth in activities recorded in the Crop Production, Textile, Apparel and Footwear; Telecommunications, and Real Estate sectors.

In the third quarter of 2014, the non-oil sector recorded 7.51 percent growth in real terms, lower compared to 8.46 percent at the corresponding period in 2013, yet higher than 6.71 percent in the second quarter of 2014.

A break down of non-oil sector shows that agriculture which comprises four activities namely Crop Production, Livestock, Forestry and Fishing grew by 9.19 percent in the third quarter of 2014, up by 2.72 percentage points from Third Quarter of 2013 and 2.52 percentage points from the previous quarter of 2014.

Within the Sector, Fishing grew the fastest by 18.76 percent, followed by Livestock at 12.36 percent. Quarter-on-Quarter, the sector grew by 45.54 percent in the Third Quarter, with Crop Production and livestock growing the fastest by 52.83 percent and 5.05 percent respectively.

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