| GDP growth to slowdown to 1% in 2009 |
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| Tuesday,February 24,2009 Posted: 22:26 BJT(26 GMT) |
| From:Namibia Economist Article type:Reproduced |
GDP growth to slowdown to 1% in 2009
(By Chamwe Kaira, Namibia Economist, 20 February-26 February 2009)
The Namibian economy is projected to grow at 1% in 2009, a slowdown from the estimated growth of 2.7% in 2008, John Steytler, director of research of the Bank of Namibia, said this week.
“Expected decline and slower growth in the diamond and other mining is partly responsible for the economic slowdown，" said Steytler.
The economy is expect¬ed to improve and grow by 3% in 2010, mainly on uranium exports.
“There is a sharp con¬traction in the primary sector, which is expected to slow down by 40% this year,” he said.
Diamond mining production is expected to de¬cline by 9.9% and 47.9% in 2008 and 2009, respectively, Steytler said when he presented the country's economic outlook for 2008 to 2010.
“No great expansion projects are expected to be undertaken in the short term due to the difficulty in raising capital in the current economic environment and general world¬wide slowdown in consumer demand,” he said.
The central bank forecasts Namibia’s diamond production to be1.1 mil¬lion carats for both 2009 and 2010, said Steytler.
He said other mining commodities are expected to grow by 31 % in 2008, compared to 13.7 percent in 2007.
“This good performance is mainly attributed to in¬crease in uranium production,” said Steytler.
He said the outlook for the fishing sector, the other main export, is positive.
“While the number of rights holders is not expected to change, nor the total allowable catch for 2009, the weakened Namibia dollar has made fish export competitive," he said.
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