St. Lucia
Preliminary data shows that the St Lucian economy contracted
by 0.8% in 2012, following a revised growth rate of 1.5%
in 2011. The poor outturn was largely because of sluggish
domestic demand as well as lower private investment,
negatively affecting the distributive trade, construction,
transport and communications sectors. The International
Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the St Lucian economy to
expand by a marginal 0.2% in 2013 and 1.3% in 2014.
The tourism industry, St. Lucia’s main economic driver,
is estimated to contribute around 60% of GDP (direct
and indirect) and is the country’s largest earner of foreign
exchange. Developments in St Lucia in the first three months
of 2013 point to an expansion in economic activity compared
with the outturn in the corresponding period of 2012. The
tourism industry continued to perform well, with stop over
arrivals increasing 2.9% in the January – August 2013 period,
the second best performance for the period among the ECCU
member countries.
Figure 19
Stop-Over Arrivals – Selected Caribbean Countries
6.00%
4.00%
Barbados
St Vincent & Gren
Antigua and Barbuda
Dominica
Grenada
Jamaica
St Lucia
St Kitts and Nevis
Anguilla
Jan-Jun
Jan-Aug
Jan-Jul
Jan-Jul
Jan-Jul
Jan-Jun
Jan-Jul
Jan-Aug
Jan-Jun
Jan-Aug
-4.00%
Bahamas
2.00%
-2.00%
-6.00%
-8.00%
Source: Caribbean Tourism Organization
36
Caribbean Investment iQ December 2013
Inflation fell 0.9% (quarter on quarter) in the first three
months of 2013, underpinned by declines in a range of prices,
including food, utilities, fuels and gas, and transportation. The
reduction in the overall index was tempered by increases in
the sub-indices commu