Image: Champion Breweries production plant
The latest GDP figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the manufacturing sector recorded 3.29 percent, an improvement from 1.13 percent in Q4 2025.
However, the GDP growth in the first quarter of 2026 was 3.89 percent lower than the 4.0 percent recorded in Q4 2025.
Commenting on manufacturing contribution to the GDP, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, attributed the growth largely to “petroleum refining, food and beverages, cement, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.”
He noted that nonetheless, manufacturing contribution to GDP remains below 10 percent, highlighting the continuing structural constraints confronting the industrial sector.
Yusuf emphasised that sustainable economic transformation cannot be driven by commerce alone,” stressing that “long-term growth resilience requires stronger productive capacity, deeper industrialization and significantly higher domestic value addition.”
According to him, “high energy costs, elevated interest rates, weak infrastructure, logistics bottlenecks and policy uncertainties continue to undermine industrial productivity and competitiveness.”
“The economy cannot achieve durable structural transformation without a stronger manufacturing base. Industrialization remains the most sustainable pathway to large-scale job creation, export competitiveness and inclusive growth,” he added.
