Lima, April 22, 2010.- Experts from the Ministries of Economy and Finance and the Central Banks of the Andean Community countries and Chile stated yesterday that the growth prospects of the Andean economies for 2010 point to a return to a course of dynamic growth after having shown signs of recovery in late 2009. 

At the subregional meeting held in Lima on Tuesday and Wednesday, the experts estimated that Andean economic growth in 2010 would be in the range of 2 to 6 percent for the CAN Member Countries and between 4.3 and 5.3 percent for Chile.

They confirmed that in 2009, despite the magnitude of the international crisis, the countries experienced economic growth.  At the subregional level, Bolivia showed the heaviest growth (3.4%), followed by Peru (0.9%), Colombia and Ecuador (0.4%), thus marking the start of their recovery. 

Participants at the subregional meeting, held with the support of French Cooperation at the CAN General Secretariat headquarters, included representatives of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and of the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR), together with prestigious economic analysts from each of the Andean countries.   

The economic analysts, however, alerted the participants to the fact that the fiscal stimulus programs implemented in 2009 had involved a sizeable increase in public spending and investment that will be noticeable in 2010 also, which could result in inflationary pressures that should be considered by economic authorities in order to avoid deterioration of the people’s purchasing power and ensure fulfillment of the macroeconomic targets. 

In the course of the meeting, participants examined the follow-up reports on the Andean economies in 2009, together with the results of the Macroeconomic Vulnerability Indicators recently created in the CAN through Decisions 704 and 731.

They were also told about the advances in the consultancies being carried with CAF support, which include the definition of Financial Vulnerability Indicators and of Socioeconomic Indicators that will reinforce the current follow-up mechanism. 

It should be added here that the International Monetary Fund, for its part, declared yesterday that “the Andean economy will continue to recover like the rest of Latin America, particularly the countries that export raw materials.”  It stated that the economies of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador will show stronger growth in 2010 than it had foreseen in its report six months ago.