Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes, is expected to review the performance of the economy for the period January to June 2021, either this month or next month.
This huge tree was uprooted and fell across the road making it impassable during the passage of Hurricane Elsa.
BUSINESS MONDAY: CHALLENGING TIMES AHEAD
THE disruption caused by Hurricane Elsa could have some implications for the local economy going forward.
A local official said he has to await more information on what transpired and did not want to be too dramatic.
However, he believed that with losses in agriculture, this can set back farmers while construction activity, which is poised to take off, could also be delayed somewhat.
The official told Business Monday that feedback from industry groups will determine the outlook. Rough estimates suggest that the damage caused by the storm, which was later upgraded to a hurricane, could run into millions of dollars.
According to him, with the further opening up of the country, Barbados is expected to kick-start more of its economic activity and put the economy back on a growth path. “But it will be challenging and with no Crop Over festival, which generates close to $100 million, these weather systems can be problematic not only for Barbados and the Caribbean,” he remarked.
He believes that this situation and the fallout from the hurricane will be put in a better perspective as well when the Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes, meets either this month or next month to review the performance of the economy for the period January to June 2021.
Haynes, in his last review, projected that once the country brings the COVID-19 pandemic under control and tourism recovers from the slump of last year and earlier this year, there should be growth.
Just recently, Government’s Chief Economic Adviser Dr. Kevin Greenidge told this newspaper that there will be growth in the fourth quarter based mainly on the performance of the tourism sector.