IMF says Zimbabwe economy will grow by 3.5% this year

The International Monetary Fund today said Zimbabwe’s economy will grow by 3.5% this year, half of its growth last year.

IN a statement following its virtual staff visit from 12-19 September, the IMF said Zimbabwe’s economy had shown resilience in the face of significant shocks which included the Russia-Ukraine war, poor rainfall and price pressures.

It said that government measures to stabilise the local currency and curb inflation were policies in the right direction as they had managed to narrow the parallel market exchange rate gap.

Below is the full statement from the IMF.

IMF Staff Concludes Virtual Staff Visit to Zimbabwe

September 19, 2022

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Dhaneshwar Ghura conducted a staff visit in Harare during September 12–19, 2022 to discuss recent economic developments and the economic outlook.

At the conclusion of the IMF mission visit, Mr. Ghura issued the following statement:

“Zimbabwe’s economy has shown resilience in the face of significant shocks. Russia’s war in Ukraine, the poor rainfall, and price pressures are adversely affecting economic and social conditions in Zimbabwe, already battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Renewed price and exchange rate depreciation pressures emerged, notably in the second quarter of 2022, with inflation in August reaching 285 percent over a year earlier. After rising to about 7 percent in 2021, real GDP growth is expected to decline to about 3½ percent in 2022 reflecting a slowdown in agricultural and energy outputs owing to erratic rains and rising macroeconomic instability, amidst a recovery in mining and tourism. Uncertainty remains high, however, and the outlook will depend on the evolution of external shocks, the policy stance, and implementation of inclusive growth-friendly policies.

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