Sri Lanka’s economy grew 7.9 percent in the first quarter of 2012, slowing from 8.0 percent a year ago and 8.3 percent in the fourth quarter of the last year. The Department of census and Statistics says the main industrial sector, which includes textiles and garments, construction and manufacturing, grew 10.8 percent in the first quarter of 2012, slower than 11.1 percent posted in the same quarter a year earlier. On a statement on its website the Department highlights that the services sector, which includes tourism, telecommunications, ports and transport, expanded by 5.8 percent in 2012, over 9.5 percent a year earlier. The agriculture sector grew by 11.5 percent in the quarter, from a contraction of 4.3 percent in the previous quarter of 2011.