Panama’s economy grew 9% in the third quarter

Panama’s economy grew by 9% in the third quarter of this year, compared to the same period in 2022, boosted by activities such as construction and domestic consumption, the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Inec) reported this Friday.

With this result, The gross domestic product (GDP) accumulated between January and September experienced an expansion of 8.9%related to the same period in 2022, specified Inec, a subject of the Office of the Chief Inspector.

According to official statistics, GDP growth in the third quarter resulted from increases of 34.8% in construction, 15.5% in new car sales and 12.7% in the marketing of alcoholic beverages, among other domestic consumption activities.

Activities related to the external economy also boosted GDP, such as a 15% increase in toll revenue from the Panama Canal, a 43.6% increase in banana exports, and a 59.6% increase in foreign sales.

According to data published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) on December 1st, GDP grew by 8.8 percent in the first half of this year.

GDP is expected to increase by around 6% this year. but some anti-mining protests, which included blockades of streets and major highways in Panama by construction trade unionists and teachersexcluding indigenous groups, caused losses employers estimate at $1.7 billion, so domestic economists predict it will cause growth forecasts for 2023 to drop by at least 1%.

Growth forecasts for 2024 are between 1% and 2.5%, according to local analysts and the Government.

The reason for this is the expected drop in income as a result of the closure of a large copper mine, which according to official data accounted for 75% of Panama’s exports, and restrictions on transit through the interoceanic canal as a result of a severe drought affecting the waterway basin.

Panama’s economy grew by 10.8% in 2022 and 15.3% in 2021, leaving behind the debacle caused by the pandemic, which collapsed GDP by 17.9% in 2020.