IMF Forecasts 11% Economic Growth for Barbados This Year

IMF Forecasts 11% Economic Growth for Barbados This Year

The International Monetary Fund predicts the Barbados economy will grow by eleven percent this year.

The forecast is contained in a press statement on the Seventh Review under the Extended Fund Facility Arrangement and Staff Report which is published today on the IMF website.

The report states that despite significant economic shocks associated with the covid-19 pandemic, twin natural disasters, and the war in Ukraine, Barbados has made good progress in implementing its Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan to restore fiscal and debt sustainability, rebuild reserves, and increase growth. International reserves increased to1.5 billion US dollars at the end of 2021 supported by loans.

According to the IMF, this and what it says has been a successful public debt restructuring, helped rebuild confidence in the country’s macroeconomic framework.

The statement adds that economic growth is projected at 11 percent for 2022 premised on a robust recovery of tourism, which is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

The IMF adds that the outlook nonetheless remains highly uncertain, and risks are elevated, including from higher global commodity prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It notes this has triggered price rises.

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