Growth in the economy was led by Agriculture and Manufacturing‘

Having recorded an economic decline of 1.6 per cent in the first quarter of last year, Barbados is projected to record growth of 14.2 per cent in 2022 with construction projected to grow by six per cent.

That’s the projection made in the country’s Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update Report, a requirement under the Public Bodies Management Act (2019), which requires the report to be published no later than five working days after nomination day.

According to the report, Barbados is expected to record growth of 1.6 per cent for 2021 after recording a decline of 19.7 per cent in the first quarter of the year. While tourism declined relative to a previously expected increase of 15.9 per cent, growth in the economy was led by Agriculture and Manufacturing, which collectively contributed nine per cent to total output, eclipsing the decline of 7.4 per cent for the traded sectors in 2021.

The retail trade and services also boosted overall growth with non-traded sectors recording positive growth of 3.2 per cent in 2021. Unemployment has been recorded at 12.3 per cent with point-to-point inflation recording 4.6 per cent in November 2021.

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Over the medium-term Barbados is projected to return to a sustained growth path of two to 2.5 per cent annually, with growth of 90.8 per cent projected for the traded sectors and 2.2 per cent growth in the non-traded sectors, respectively, in 2022. Total revised expenditure for 2021-2022 is estimated at $791.2 million, which is approximately is $26.8 million less than what was approved.

The projected increase in expenditure is attributed interest rates savings due to lower London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), as slow disbursements on project loans, some of which benefitted from extensions to the terminal disbursement dates and maturity extensions.

As at March 2022, it is expected that the public debt stock would climb to BDS$13.3 billion, representing 137 per cent of Gross Domestic Product. External debt is projected at BDS$4.47 billion and domestic debt at BDS$8.75 billion.

The Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update Report provides an update on the macro and fiscal performance for the first six months of the financial year as well as detail any changes to the budget year outlook as reported in the Fiscal Framework report. The update serves to inform of government interventions that may have caused deviations to the outturn anticipated at the start of the budget year.