http://www.timesofoman.com/innercat.asp?cat=&detail=1560&rand=einugneB8JZiTuTStxVk4AkOWU
Cuba claims fastest economic growth in Americas
Reuters
Saturday, December 23, 2006 12:40:07 PM Oman Time
HAVANA -- Cuba said on Friday its economy grew 12.5 percent this year, the
fastest pace in the Western hemisphere, and that its budget deficit remained
well under control despite a 32 percent rise in spending.
The Communist-run government said the growth figure, based on its own formula
that includes subsidized social services, would have been 9.5 percent using
traditional measurements.
Economy and Planning Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez told a year-end session of
parliament the jump in gross domestic product was "the highest figure in our
revolutionary history ... and also the highest in the region."
The U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said
this month the Cuban formula was still under study as it was based on estimates
of the market value of free social services and subsidized goods, as well as
massive medical and other services exported mainly to Venezuela.
"We will continue to demand the right to have our figures published by all
international organizations, especially those within the U.N. system,"
Rodriguez said.
Cuba claimed 11.8 percent growth last year, while sources such as the Economist
Intelligence Unit and the CIA estimated the formula overstated the rise by 3-4
percentage points.
Finance Minister Georgina Barreiro told parliament this year's budget deficit
was a bit less than in 2005, coming in at 3.2 percent of GDP despite a jump in
spending from 25 billion pesos in 2005 to around 33 billion pesos this year.
Barreiro said spending would rise 9.1 percent in 2007. Cuba officially pegs the
peso at 92 U.S. cents but, at state-run exchange houses, it is valued at less
than 5 cents.
The peso budget includes a hidden and often more important foreign exchange
budget, according to government sources. For the first time in many years, no
information on Cuba's external finances or trade was provided at the session of
the National Assembly, which meets twice a year.
Since the United States began enforcing its decades-old trade embargo on Cuba
more strictly in 2004, scarce economic data has become even harder to come by.
When provided, it often differs from official to official and report to report.
ECLAC, basing its report on figures provided by the Cuban government, said
exports of goods and services were $10.443 billion this year, compared with
$7.2 billion in 2005, largely due to a 53 percent rise in service exports.
The report said imports were $10.352 billion, compared with $7.963 billion in
2005. "There was an increase in international reserves and a slight decrease in
the foreign debt," ECLAC said, without providing details.
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