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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed its first visit to Barbados since the island entered into a second arrangement under the Enhanced Fund Facility (EFF) and first programme under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
Following the visit, team leader Pablo Morra issued a statement saying:
“Barbados faced challenging conditions in recent years as a result of the global pandemic, natural disasters, and the rise in global food and fuel prices. After contracting by 14 percent in 2020-2021, economic activity is recovering strongly, driven by the tourism sector, with real GDP growth estimated at 10 percent in 2022. The economic recovery is expected to continue in 2023.”
He confirmed that Barbados had met all of its targets for December 2022 and is on track to meet its primary balance target of 2 percent of GDP. The primary balance is the difference between Government’s revenue and its non-interest expenditure.
Morra also commented on the progress of key reforms:
“Several steps have been taken to advance the structural reform agenda, including actions to strengthen and modernize procedures for granting and managing duty and tax exemptions and safeguard the sustainability of the National Insurance Fund. Work is also underway on reforms to enhance the sustainability of the public sector pension scheme, strengthen tax administration, and implement reform measures to build resilience to climate change under the RSF.”
Read the full statement here.