THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disclosed that the Republic of Benin has maintained a strong economic performance despite Nigeria’s closure of the land border connecting the two countries.
Nigeria on the 19 September 2019, had abruptly
halted import and export activities on the border as
one of its strategies of stopping smuggling,
trafficking and other criminal activities.
Luc Eyraud, Deputy Division Chief in the IMF’s
Fiscal Affairs who led the IMF team in its latest
visit to Benin in a press release said the Beninese
economic Real GDP is expected to grow by 6.4 per
cent in 2019, mostly driven by the agriculture and
transport sectors.
“Growth should accelerate in 2020 and remain
sustained over the medium term, buttressed by
vigorous cotton production, construction, and port
activities.
“Consumer price inflation, affected by the high
agriculture production, has been on a declining
trend, falling by 1.4 per cent in the first nine months
of 2019, relative to the same period one year
earlier.
“It is expected to remain well below the 3.0 per
cent regional ceiling in 2019 and 2020. The fiscal
deficit for 2019 is estimated at 2.3 per cent of the
recently rebased GDP.
Young-po Reporters 