BARBADOS STRUGGLED for meaningful economic growth in 2017 and the slump is expected to continue this year.
After the economy grew by about one per cent last year, Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes said the bank forecast growth would be between 0.5 per cent and one per cent.
He gave the review and outlook yesterday during a press conference at the Tom Adams Financial Centre.
“For the third consecutive year, there was a modest improvement in economic activity, but after an encouraging start, preliminary data suggest that the growth rate is estimated to have moderated to one per cent,” he said.
The Governor explained that this reflected “the combined effect of a slowdown in the tourism sector in the second half of the year, the delayed implementation of foreign-funded investment projects, and the impact of tighter fiscal policy”.
In terms of the outlook, he said achieving the forecast for marginal economic growth this year “is dependent on the strength of the performance of the tourism sector and the speed of implementation of investment projects”.
“Ultimately, the medium-term growth performance will hinge on the performance of foreign exchange driven activities,” he added. (SC)
