Barbados economy contracts during the first half of 2013

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados economy contracted during the first six months of the year with the main foreign exchange sectors also suffering a decline, according to figures released by the Central Bank of Barbados (CBB) on Tuesday.
The CBB said that the local economy grew by just 0.6 per cent and among the priorities for the future will be to reduce spending “in the economy so as to balance the inflows and outflows of foreign exchange “and also “to revive economic growth led by tourism, international business, agro processing and alternative energy”.
The CBB said that the first half of 2013 saw a contraction in the main foreign exchange earners, namely tourism and international business and financial services.