• Household spending is projected to hit GH¢104.9 billion in 2021
• The economy is expected to also grow by a real rate of 4.8% year-on-year over 2021
• This was made known by International research agency, Fitch Solutions
International research agency, Fitch Solutions has indicated that real household spending in Ghana is estimated to surge by 4.1 percent in 2021 to GH¢104.9 billion.
According to a report issued by Fitch, consumer spending for 2021 falls in line with the projected real growth rate of the overall economy which is pegged at 4.8 percent.
“Our forecast for an improvement in consumer spending in Ghana in 2021 is in line with our Country Risk team’s forecast that the Ghanaian economy will grow by a real rate of 4.8% year-on-year over 2021, following growth of just 0.4% year-on-year over 2020. Private consumption will be the main driver of the economic recovery, and contribute 2.7 percentage points to headline growth,” the agency explained.
“Household spending (an estimated 71.6% of Gross Domestic Product in 2020) is likely to have grown at a moderate pace in H121 [half-year 2021] as the easing of social distancing restrictions allowed both formal and informal retail activities to open up, while the gradual normalisation of business activities resulted in improving labour market conditions,”, it added.
Fitch Solution also pointed that the successful rollout of Ghana’s COVID-19 vaccination programme will ensure economic recovery prospects are intact which will impact on consumer spending and reduce further risks imposed by the pandemic.
“We forecast Ghana’s unemployment rate (% of the total labour force) to average 4.1% in 2021, decreasing from 4.5% in 2020. This means that average unemployment in Ghana will return to the pre-COVID-19 level of 4.1% in 2019,” Fitch Solutions said.
“Our forecasts take into account risks that are highly likely to play out in 2021, including the easing of government support. However, there are risks to the outlook that if they do start to play out, will lead to forecast revisions,” the report added.