The Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, is painting a bleak picture about the region’s growth prospects for this calendar year.
In its annual macroeconomic report published earlier on Monday, the IDB forecast that the strong recovery of Caribbean economies in 2022, will slow or reverse this year.
Chevon Campbell tells us more.
The IDB notes that much of the headwinds Latin America and the Caribbean will face in the coming months is out of the control of the respective governments.
Growth in the region’s main trading partners such as the United States is expected to slow.
Projections for the United States have been slashed by almost half and the knock on effect will undoubtedly be felt by those bordering the super power.
Production in key markets remains stymied by both lingering pandemic effects and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.
It’s bad news for a region which recorded a surprising economic recovery, defying expectations to finish 2022 with nearly four per cent growth.
However, the IDB fears that required efforts to tame inflation could harm economies and trigger a recession.
Jamaica, which represents one of the biggest success stories over the last two years is not immune.
While there’s no expectation of the country slipping into recession there are fears that growth will lose its momentum.
The country has also been ravaged by inflation.
The multilateral warns that the economic slowdown that the region may face in 2023 raises the grave spectre of a rise in poverty and inequality.
For example the IDB ranked Jamaica fifth in the region for increases in poverty caused by food inflation.
It says many of the hard-earned social gains in the first decade of the century have been reversed.
