JUAN FUENTES Q&A

摘要

Official estimates for growth are being revised downwards but should not fall to less than 4%. Guatemala is not the most affected in the region by the deceleration, and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean estimates central America will grow by 5% in 2008 and 4.5% in 2009. The biggest risks to our economy are exogenous. Central America is a net importer of food and fuel and although Guatemalan remittances are continuing to grow, they are doing so more slowly. The only sector that is performing poorly is textiles, largely due to competition with China; both traditional and non-traditional exports are growing. This is a very different, diversified economy compared to 20 years ago when we depended more on coffee, bananas and sugar.