The chief board of the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) has accomplished the fifth and last opinions of Barbados’ Prolonged Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) preparations, unlocking a mixed disbursement of US$58 million for the island.
In an announcement issued Friday, the IMF mentioned the completion permits Barbados to attract US$19 million below the EFF and US$39 million below the RSF, bringing complete disbursements to US$116 million and US$193 million, respectively.
The Washington-based establishment reported that Barbados’ financial system remained strong in 2024, with estimated progress of 4 per cent, fuelled by tourism, building, and enterprise companies. Inflation eased to a median of 1.4 per cent, reflecting declining world commodity costs and decrease prices for home items and companies.
The nation’s exterior place additionally strengthened, with the present account deficit narrowing to 4.5 per cent of GDP, bolstered by sturdy tourism earnings and decrease import prices. Gross worldwide reserves stood at US$1.6 billion on the finish of 2024, equating to greater than seven months of import cowl—offering strong backing for the nation’s alternate charge peg.
Trying forward, the IMF initiatives Barbados’ financial system will develop by 2.7 per cent in 2025, with ongoing tourism-related building and authorities funding driving the growth. Nonetheless, inflation is anticipated to rise barely, owing to greater non-fuel import prices and elevated costs of some home agricultural merchandise.
“However, dangers to the outlook are tilted to the draw back, amidst the extremely unsure exterior financial surroundings and Barbados’ continued vulnerability to world shocks and pure disasters,” the IMF cautioned.
The Fund recommended Barbados for its sturdy programme efficiency, confirming that each one quantitative targets and structural benchmarks have been met. The federal government exceeded its main fiscal surplus goal for FY 2024/25, and goals to succeed in 4.4 per cent of GDP within the upcoming fiscal yr. Public debt has fallen under 105 per cent of GDP, with a dedication to scale back it to 60 per cent by FY 2035/36.
Amongst key structural reforms accomplished below the EFF have been a human sources evaluation on the Barbados Customs and Excise Division, the preparation of a public-private partnership (PPP) framework, and the event of a every day liquidity forecasting device.
Underneath the RSF, Barbados additionally superior efforts to combine local weather concerns into public monetary administration, together with mission appraisal pointers, improved fiscal danger evaluation, and the Central Financial institution’s inclusion of local weather danger in stress testing.
IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Li praised the nation’s efficiency, saying:
“The implementation of Barbados’ homegrown Financial Restoration and Transformation programme has remained sturdy, supported by the EFF and the RSF preparations.”
He added that the completion of the ultimate opinions marks the profitable conclusion of the IMF-supported programmes.
