Photo credit: UMM PNG
According to the Bank of Papua New Guinea, total real GDP would rise by about 1.0 per cent in 2021, compared to a previous projection of 2.5 per cent in the bank's March monetary policy statement, Michael Sullivan, President of the Papua New Guinea-European Union Business Council, said.
Sullivan made the remarks at the Lamana Hotel in Port Moresby at the Second EU-PNG Business Trade and Investment Conference.
He provided an outline of the PNG economy's predicted performance, stating that the lower-than-expected recovery for 2021 is mostly attributable to an expected drop in the mineral sector and the uncertainty connected with COVID-19's continued impact.
“This growth in the mineral sector which includes oil and gas has also been revised downwards because of the closure of the Porgera gold mine while the non-mineral sector is expected to do better,” Sullivan said.
The expected growth in the non-mineral sector, according to Sullivan, is due to favourable international prices for many agricultural products, increased production, the government's price support and freight subsidy program for selected agricultural commodities, and further easing of COVID-19 containment measures.
He also stated that early survey data available to the BPNG indicates that employment will be greater in the second half of 2021 than in the first.
“Growth in the normal working environment and increased economic adjustments to the new agriculture, forestry, fishing, wholesale, retail, manufacturing, mining and the other services sectors.
Reference: Kamus, Maxine. Post-Courier (12 October 2021). “BPNG Predicts Real GDP Gwoth By 1% In 2021”.
