Monday, February 8, 2010

Budget 2010 at a glance.........




Real GDP

-The Guyanese economy grew by 2.3 percent in 2009-a fourth consecutive year of positive growth since the 2005 floods.

-Non-sugar gross domestic product grew by 2.2 percent in 2009.

Viewed in the global and regional context, this sustained domestic performance is demonstrative of the increasingly strong fundamentals on which our economy now rests.

Sectoral Performance

-Sugar production amounted to 233,736 tonnes, an increase of 3.3 percent over the previous year.

-The rice industry expanded its input by 9.2 percent to produce 359,789 tonnes, the highest annual production level in a decade and the second highest production level in the entire history of the industry.

- The other crops sector grew by 5.8 percent, reflecting continued returns to the 'Grow More' food campaign and more efficient market access, particularly with the bridging of the Berbice River.

-The fishing sector contracted by 10.5 percent, mainly on account of lower demand in export markets.

-The forestry sector also contracted by 0.6 percent driven by lower log production and reflecting lower demand for forest products in the export markets.

- The mining and quarrying sector recorded growth of 0.7 percent, reflecting mixed performances in the sub-sectors

- The manufacturing sector continued to record mixed performances, with some sub-sectors such as aerated beverages, mineral or distilled water and stock-feed recording increased production.

-Growth in the engineering and construction sector moderated to 1.5 percent.

- The transport and communication sector grew by 2 percent, while the distribution sector expanded by 6.6 percent, financial services by 3 percent, rental of dwellings by 2 percent and other services by 3 percent.

Balance of Payments

-The balance of payments reflected significant improvement to end 2009 with an overall surplus of US$234.4 million, compared with a surplus of US$5.6 million in 2008
The overall balance of payment surplus enabled the Bank of Guyana to increase its external reserves position from US$356 million at the end of 2008 to US$628 million, the highest ever in our country's history.

Monetary Developments

-Credit to the private sector increased by 5.7 percent

- Government increased the ceiling on mortgages granted by the New Building Society Ltd. from $8 million to $12 million. In addition, Government increased the ceiling on loans granted by participating commercial banks under Government's low income housing programme from $2 million to $8 million.

Price and Income

-At the end of 2009 inflation was 3.6 percent

- The value of the Guyana dollar appreciated by 0.97 percent against the US dollar.

Fiscal Position

Non-Financial Public Sector

-The fiscal performance of the non-financial public sector continued to improve in 2009, with an overall deficit of $13.5 billion or 5.3 percent of gross domestic product, a significant reduction from the 7.6 percent in 2008.

Central Government


Current revenue amounted to $94.9 billion, an increase of 15 percent over 2008, as a result of improved performance of both tax and non-tax revenue categories

Total expenditure increased by 11.4 percent above 2008 to $127.4 billion primarily as a result of significant increases in investment expenditure of 30.7 percent to $47 billion and a moderate increase of 2.5 percent in current expenditure. The former was mainly due to increased investment in the agricultural, construction and housing sectors.

1 comment:

  1. This goes to show the government has done well to maintain a stable and strong economy to improve the lives of every guyanese........

    ReplyDelete