(Bloomberg) -- Kenya’s economic growth rate fell to the lowest in 18 months in the second quarter as a series of protests over high living costs weighed on output and consumer spending.
Gross domestic product grew by 4.6% in the three months through June from a year earlier, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics said in an emailed report on Wednesday. That’s the slowest rate since the end of 2022 and compares with 5% in the first quarter of this year.
Agriculture expanded 4.8%, compared with 6.1% in the previous three months. Increased production of sugarcane, milk and fruit exports supported the sector, the statistics office said. Farming is an economic mainstay, accounting for almost a fifth of the nation’s total output, and employing more than 70% of rural people. The respite for farmers is unlikely to last however, with the La Nina weather phenomenon expected to result in hot and dry conditions across east Africa.
Manufacturing growth accelerated to 3.2% and the construction sector’s output contracted by 2.9%. Credit extended to business in the building industry declined by 7.5% to stand at 131.1 billion shillings ($1 billion) as at June 2024, according to the statistics office.
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