Local News News Barbados records 11.8 per cent economic growth Marlon Madden27/04/2022067 views The Barbados economy grew by 11.8 per cent in the first three months of the year, mainly due to a strong performance in the tourism sector. However, Central Bank Governor Cleviston Haynes has cautioned that while he was still expecting growth to continue, this was being threatened by a number of ongoing challenges. Chief among them, he said, were the risks associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruption, the war in Ukraine, and tightening of monetary policy in advanced economies. He gave this indication on Wednesday during his first quarter economic review. “The onset of the Russia-Ukraine war has been especially concerning as pre-existing inflationary pressures have been aggravated by a surge in food and energy prices resulting from its impact on the supply of commodities globally. A prolonged war could slow the global economic recovery and affect the revival of the local economy,” he said. “Already domestic prices have risen in line with international price movements, prompting Government to introduce measures focused directly on containing some of the price increases. On the flip side, Haynes said Government’s revenue has recovered faster than expected, partly the result of the impact of rising prices. “This enabled Government to maintain its targeted policy stance for financial year 2021/22 while increasing its spending, including for rising healthcare costs associated with the ongoing pandemic and for addressing the needs created by climatic events in 2021. The stock of public sector debt declined slightly during the quarter and the debt-to-GDP ratio fell as the recovery strengthened. “Over the past two years, external borrowing boosted international reserves which continue to provide a strong cover to meet imports of goods and services,” the Central Bank Governor said. (marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)