GDP grows 2.6% in 2Q amid flood impact

Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 2.6 percent from a year earlier in the second quarter of this year, decelerating from 5.5 percent reported in the first quarter, as the heavy floods during the period took its toll on the country’s agricultural and industry sectors.

“Sri Lanka experienced inclement weather conditions during second quarter of 2016. It may have caused an impact on the economy,” the country’s statistics office, the Census and Statistics Department said. The agricultural sector contracted of 5.6 percent

AGRICULTURE ACTIVITIES WERE AFFECTED BADLY DUE TO THE DRY WEATHER CONDITION PREVAILED FROM OCTOBER 2015 TO MAY 2016

while industry sector grew only 2.2 percent from a year ago. The services sector rose 4.9 percent.

“Agriculture activities were affected badly due to the dry weather condition prevailed from October 2015 to May 2016 and high rain falls experienced in upcountry and wet zone areas.

High rain falls experienced in the Western province and the areas in and around free trade zones of the Western province may have affected considerably over industrial activities,” the statistics office said.

The GDP for the second quarter at constant (2010) price reportedly reached up to Rs.2, 130, 240 million. The four major pillars of the economy— agriculture, industry, services and taxes less subsidies on products—have contributed their share to the GDP at current price by 7.7 percent, 26.6 percent, 55.8 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively, in the second quarter of 2016.

Among the sub activities of agriculture, the value added of ‘growing of rice’, ‘growing of tea’, ‘growing of rubber’ and ‘marine fishing’ declined by 17.9 percent, 12.2 percent, 8.2 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively, during this quarter, compared to the same quarter in the previous year.