C.S.O.: 1st quarter economic figures cautiously optimistic
It’s a new record for the Central Statistical Office…the release of quarterly figures just two months after relevant surveys were conducted countrywide. But according to officials at the C.S.O., the timely production of accurate information will become a consistent trademark of the department. This morning, officials presented the latest numbers on the economy, and according to Chief Statistician Glenn Avilez, while some sectors are flourishing, significant cutbacks by the government have resulted in the recommendation of the catch phrase: no new taxes.
Glenn Avilez, Chief Statistician
?In any economy, there?s a limit as to how far you can go with taxes, generally there is the rule of thumb that twenty-five percent is that limit. We are just about that limit, so it is quite possible that any more taxes would have adverse effects on government revenues, as well as on business investments.?
?Presently you have a very vibrant agriculture sector. Citrus is doing well, sugar cane not as well, but still on the positive side, and so is bananas. The manufacturing sector, we have citrus processing, again, doing marvellously well. Soft drink production, beer production are down compared to last year?s levels, but I think the up shoot in citrus has more than compensated for that.?
?G.D.P. is just the total value of goods and services that are produced by all sectors of economy. So we are talking about how much rice we produce, how much hotel service, education services, health services, it?s just the total money value of what we as a country produce. In terms of our performance so far for this year, we are seeing five point nine percent in the first quarter.?
?We have to be careful of painting too rosy a picture because certainly life has changes. We are in the middle of the hurricane season and if we were to be struck several things might be affected; we are talking about our fragile agriculture, we have our tourism which can be affected. So it is not easy to come up with an estimate as to what G.D.P. growth will be for the year. ?
According to the C.S.O., the next statistics presentation is scheduled for October of this year.
