APRIL 7 2022
Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries expanded by an estimated 3.7% in 2021, according to the Asian Development Bank’s Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022 released on April 6, 2022.
The ADO said this largely reflected recovery from a low base in 2020, when output was hampered by lockdowns and trade bottlenecks.
“Increased production of palm oil, cocoa, and coffee was stimulated by rising global commodity prices and the resolution of trade bottlenecks,” it said.
“Log and fish production changed little from 2020.”
The ADO said growth in the rest of the economy was generally weak.
“Having contracted significantly in 2020, transport and storage services and accommodation and food services recovered only marginally in 2021 as COVID-19 continued to affect business travel and tourism and deter investment,” it said.
“However, construction, which had been hampered in 2020 by lockdowns and travel restrictions, picked up in 2021 as government capital expenditure rose from the equivalent of 8.1% of GDP in 2020 to 8.5% in 2021.”
The ADO said the fiscal deficit in 2021 equaled 7.1% of GDP, according to a 2022 national budget document released by the Department of Treasury in November 2022.
“The final deficit may exceed this amount, however, considering a tendency to underbudget in certain areas, including public sector wages,” it said.
“Inflation averaged 4.5% in 2021 but stood at 5.7% year on year in December 2021.
“Transportation costs increased by 7.7% in the year to December, and education costs jumped by 20.0% as the government introduced tuition fees in public schools.
“Food prices increased by 5.2%, mostly reflecting higher prices for edible oils, led by cooking oil, which jumped by 35.6%.
“By contrast, rent slipped by 0.6% and, with greater competition in the marketplace because of new entrants, communication costs fell by 2.5%.”
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