UN agency estimates 2.1 per cent economic growth for Latin America, Caribbean in 2022

MEXICO CITY, Jan 14 -- The economy of Latin America and the Caribbean will grow 2.1 per cent in 2022, representing a slowdown compared to 6.2 per cent in 2021, reported Xinhua.

According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in a report released on Wednesday, the economy of the Caribbean region will grow 6.1 per cent in 2022, while that of Central America and Mexico will advance 3.3 per cent, and that of South America will grow 1.4 per cent.

Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of ECLAC, indicated in a virtual press conference from Mexico City that 2022 will be a "very complex" year, with the deepening of uncertainty and asymmetries between developed and developing countries.

"The region is facing a less favourable external context, a sharp slowdown in growth and less fiscal space, with great inflationary pressures and exchange rate volatility," said Barcena when presenting the commission's preliminary assessment.

The region's slower growth will be partly due to an expected slowdown in global trade in 2022 to a 4.7-per cent increase from 10.8 per cent in 2021, according to the estimate.

The report also highlighted the continued decline in investment and productivity in the region, a slow recovery of employment due to the pandemic, and an increase in inflationary pressures and financial imbalances.

Commodity prices, however, will stabilise in 2022 after a sharp rise last year, the report said.

--BERNAMA