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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed its seventh and final review of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme.
Following the visit, which was conducted in-person for the first time since February 2020, team lead Bert van Selm issued a statement saying:
“Following productive discussions, the IMF team and the Barbadian authorities reached staff-level agreement on the completion of the seventh and final review under the EFF arrangement. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to consider the review in June. Upon completion of the review, SDR 17 million (or about US$23 million) will be made available to Barbados.”
Commenting on the island’s current economic situation, van Selm said, “Economic activity in Barbados is starting to recover from the COVID-19 shock. Tourism came to a virtual standstill in April 2020, and the economy contracted by 14 percent in 2020. A gradual economic recovery started in 2021 and gained momentum in recent months, with tourism now just over 50 percent of pre-pandemic levels.”
He noted, however, that “Risks to the outlook remain elevated, with higher global food and fuel prices starting to push up inflation in Barbados.”
Van Selm confirmed that despite the current challenging environment, Barbados had met all of its quantitative targets for end-December 2021 and end-March 2022.
Read the full statement here.