2024-09-13 22:15:24
The reduction of imports by 3.3% pushed the Ecuadorian economy grew slightly by 1.2% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year, the Ministry of Economy explained on Friday. Central Bank of Ecuador (BCE).
Economic growth was also due to “a positive variation in the stocks (inventories)“The ECB added in a report on the performance of the national economy in the first quarter of the year. However, it stressed that the main components of the gross domestic product (GDP) showed year-on-year contractionsespecially in the area of central government expenditure, which showed an indicator of -0.3%.
Between January and March of this year, exports also contracted by 0.5%, household consumption by 1.1%, and gross fixed capital formation (investments) by 1.3%. reduction of importsThe Central Bank explained that this behavior was due to “a contraction in demand for refined petroleum products, vehicles and transportation equipment.”
He also noted that “household consumption was affected by the decrease in demand for trade services and transportation. Also, the reduction in government spending “was supported by a decrease in its administrative services“The source added, after emphasizing that the negative performance of exports was mainly due to lower sales abroad of shrimp (prawn) elaborated».
The variation in the inventory section contributed positively to the GDP “by a high accumulation of inventories by companies during the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year, due to contractions in the internal and external demand“, the Central Bank added.
And at the industry level, only ten of the twenty sectors that make up this section presented a positive performance. The most notable sectors were the electricity and water supply sectors, at 12.5%; fishing and aquaculture, at 10.8%; mining and quarrying, at 4.3%; technical professional activitiesby 3.9%; and real estate activities, by 2.9%.
Compared to the previous quarter (the fourth quarter of 2023), GDP from January to March grew by 3.5%, driven by the recovery of exports by 10.6%; while the gross capital accumulation rose by 3.1%, the ECB added.
He also said that the variation of the first quarter of 2024 in relation to the last quarter of last year in the household consumption item improved by 2%, while imports decreased by 10.2%, “contributing positively to the GDP evolution«.In addition, he noted that government spending between January and March of this year decreased by 0.3% compared to the last quarter of 2024, and that a slowdown was reported in the stock accumulation of companies, “contributing negatively to GDP performance.”