| KINGSTON, April 15 (JIS): |
 Minister
of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies has said that despite the
challenges faced in fiscal year 2003/04, there were some significant
positives in the economy during the period.Citing some of these positives, the Minister said that there were some successes in the Agriculture, Bauxite/Alumina and Tourism sectors. Dr. Davies gave this update during his contribution to the 2004/05 Budget Debate today (April 15), at Gordon House. The Finance and Planning Minister said that the Agricultural sector had rebounded with a 5.7 per cent growth in calendar year 2003. This, he pointed out occurred despite the natural disasters of flood rains and drought between1999 and 2003. Turning to the Bauxite and Alumina sector for the calendar year 2003, he said, “the bauxite alumina sector was operating at close to maximum capacity and demand on the world market for alumina pushed prices beyond original projection”. “The Tourism sector had perhaps its greatest year ever with records being established in long-term visitors, cruise ship passengers as well as total visitor expenditure,” he declared. He added, “the recovery of the industry had not only positive results in terms of the viability of properties but also contributed to greater stability in the foreign exchange market and improvements in the balance of payments”. Dr. Davies also noted the growth in these sectors were the “major contributors to the overall economic performance” during the period. |
